Still
by skellington13
Summary: Someone from the teams past is forced to return to look after Vince and Jesse while the others run from the law.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own any of the characters you recognise. This is the first TFATF fic that i've written so please be kind and review and let me know what you think. this is just an intro and the story will get better.

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"Hey, Max, there's a phone call for you."

I looked up from the fridge I was currently filling and frowned. Only Naomi ever called me at the bar and she was at home in New York visiting her family for a few weeks. The rest of my friends either worked at the bar or frequented it and never needed to call me here.

I sat the remaining bottles of Millers on the ground beside the fridge and wiped my hands against my jeans.

"Back office, sweetie pie." Mary was one of the older waitresses at the bar, and the wife of the owner. She was a surrogate mother to everyone that worked here and I loved her as if she were flesh and blood. She had done more for me than anyone else ever had or likely ever would.

"Thanks mama." I kissed her cheek as I passed her and closed the door behind me. The bar was quiet now and wouldn't pick up for another few hours so I settled myself at Troy's desk and picked up the cordless phone.

"Hello?"

"So you're going by Max now how? What is it with you and boy's names?"

The husky voice made me freeze where I sat, my hand half way towards the bowl of candies on the desk and I didn't need a mirror to know that I looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"How did you get this number?" My voice sounded high pitched and panicked even to my own ears. I glanced at the door and stood quickly, closing it and locking it before sitting down again.

"How the hell do you think I got it, D?"

"Remind me to break his laptop next time I see him. What the hell do you want Leon?"

"His laptop is the least of his worries right now. We need your help."

"Oh there's a shocker. What has team Toretto managed to fuck up this time, huh?"

The venom in my voice surprised even me but I couldn't bite it back. I heard a sharp curse in the background and could practically see him pacing, running a hand through his always-too-long hair. He would close his eyes and take a deep, calming breath before opening them again.

"Look, Dylan, I'm asking here. We need your help. The shit has seriously hit the fan and I can't think of anyone else that could help."

He sighed again and I rolled my eyes. "Look, Leon, you obviously know I'm in work so can you just tell…"

"I can't talk about it over the phone. Can you come and meet me?"

"What? No. Absolutely not." He was insane if he thought I was going to walk back into that life.

"Jesus Dylan can you stop being such a bitch for a minute. I'm fucking desperate here! I've no where else to turn."

The sudden rise in volume made me wince and I lifted the phone away from my ear for a second until he was done. I could hear a female voice on the other end ordering him to calm down and listened to his apology and my blood went cold. Where ever he was, it wasn't good.

"Leon, where are you?" I asked, slowly standing. There was a pause before he sighed.

"The hospital."

"Want to be a little more specific?"

"LA County. But don't come here. We need to meet somewhere private, there's so much shit I need to tell you. Can you come to the house?"

The house. Also known as team Toretto's home base. The house I had spent the majority of my childhood in and the one I swore I would never return to when I left. I did not want to go to that house.

"Fine, give me an hour to get there."

"It takes your car an hour to get from there to here?" He sounded surprised and I rolled my eyes.

"I don't drive that fast anymore."

"How come?"

"None of your damn business. I'll see you in an hour."

I hung up the phone and stared at it for a few seconds. Something bad had happened, that much was obvious. The only reason Leon would call me after three years was for something damn serious.

"Hey, mama, you mind if I call in a sickie tonight?" I was already holding my bag as I stepped out of the office and looked around for Mary. She looked up from the till, concern etched into her features.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure. That was a… relative of mine. He sounds like he's at the end of his tether. You mind? I'll call Kelly on my way and get her to come in and cover for me?"

"You go ahead, I'll get it covered. And you call if you need anything, okay?"

"Yeah, mama, thanks."

Dusk was just settling as I climbed into my car, pressing my foot down on the accelerator and shooting down the street.

My mind was rushing; memories of my old life were swimming around my brain, flashes and images that made me smile and scowl and shudder. I shouldn't be going back here, I reminded myself as I flicked the radio on. I needed something to occupy my thoughts. Soothing blues music floated into the car and I sighed and relaxed.

I would drop by the house, see what he had to say and then leave. No big deal.

Maybe I could pick up the rest of my shit while I was there. I had left books and CDs behind when I left and had never gotten the nerve up to go and get them.

The music kept my mind occupied for the journey and I stopped singing along as I realised where I was.

I swung my car into the usual spot and frowned. There were no cars here. There was always at least one car parked in the driveway of the Torettos. For there to be none…

Something wasn't right here. I started the car up again and backed out of the driveway, circling the block and parking a few streets down. I climbed out and locked up the car, before striding off in the direction of the house.

It was in total darkness and I didn't bother to rap or ring the bell. I made my way around the back and headed for the barbecue that was set up in the corner. Taped beneath it was my spare key. I pried it down and headed back around front. There was still no lights on and I frowned. Leon should have been here by now.

I stepped inside the house and took a deep breath. It smelt like Mia's lasagne. And oil. And there was the hint of vanilla from the candles Letty loved. I walked down the hall in the dark until I got to the door of the basement. I stood outside it, staring blindly.

"He ain't down there."

I jumped and let out a sharp squeal. Leon stood behind me, arms crossed over his chest and a weary look on his face.


	2. Home Again

None of the characters you recognise belong to me. Please read and review. thanks to Kaiya's Watergarden, Ms. Lori Reznor and Love Ink who have already reviewed. I should point out, and yes this is a bribe, that the more reviews i get (good or bad) the quicker i update. x

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I sat at the kitchen table, staring over at the man in front of me. He looked tired. Exhausted actually and his hair was sticking out at odd angles from where he had been running his hands through it. It had always been one of his nervous habits.

"So, spill. What's going on?"

"It's one hell of a long story."

"I had to get the night off work so I got time." I told him. He glared at me and I shrugged before standing up. Being back in the house had brought back all sorts of memories and urges and right now I could do with an ice cold Bacardi and lemon.

I didn't drink much these days; all the drunken idiots in the bar were enough to put even a hardened alcoholic off drink for a while, but when I did indulge, I indulged in Bacardi and icy, bitter lemon.

Everything was where it was when I left. I moved around the kitchen with ease, grabbing a glass and then ice, then the Bacardi from the drinks cupboard and a bottle of bitter lemon from Vince's drawer in the fridge. My hand froze on the bottle as I gazed down into the drawer. He didn't drink bitter lemon.

I fixed my drink quickly, ignoring the piercing gaze on my back. He waited until I sat down again before starting.

"Hey, you hear about those heists on the news?"

Was he serious?

"Leon, I didn't drive for a fucking hour to talk about current events."

"It was us."

I stared at him in horror. I had known the team for a long ass time and I had never seen them do something as stupid as this before. He had to be kidding me.

"Say what?"

"It was us, Dylan. Me, Let, Dom, V and Jesse. We needed some extra money for the garage and the store and this was the easiest way to get it."

"Are you fucking serious? Ever heard of a bank loan?"

I was livid. This was why I had to come back here?

"Listen before you freak out, D." He ordered. "Look, it was the only thing we could think of if we wanted to keep the garage. Money was low, everyone was stressed… Dom came up with the idea and we all agreed."

I shook my head slowly before freezing. Hadn't I heard something on the news earlier that day about the cops having some of the people responsible for those hijackings?

"Today was supposed to be the last one. We had made more than enough money but we had one more truck left in the deal we made with the guy who was buying the stuff. So we headed to Race Wars and then we went on out."

He wasn't looking at me; instead he was staring at the wall behind my head and it was unnerving. Leon was the type of guy who looked you in the eye when you were talking to him. The butterflies in my stomach, the ones that had lay dormant since I left the team, were in full flutter mode and I began to feel a little sick.

"We fucked up D." His voice broke on the last word and he covered his face with his hand. I was up in a shot, forgetting all my previous animosity, and was on his lap in seconds, cradling his head between my palms and looking him in the eyes.

These guys were hard as nails. It took a hell of a lot to shake them and right now, Leon was shaken. It did not look good.

"Come on, Le; don't fall apart on me now. Tell me what happened and we'll figure it out."

He nodded. His eyes were dry but the wear troubled. I stroked his hair off his face

"Yeah, well there's this guy, right. He shows up a few months ago at the store. We figure he's stalking Mia or something. Vince…"

He cut off at the mention of Vince and glanced up at me, his eyes troubled again. I shook my head and motioned for him to continue.

"His name was Brian. Vince didn't like him. Thought he was a cop but you know Dom. He took a shine to the guy, started bringing him around all the time. Him and Mia got real close, if you know what I'm saying. He started racing with us. Lost his pink slip in his first race; thought he was good enough to take on King Toretto. Anyways, turns out V was right. The damn buster was a cop. He saw us take off and told Mia everything and they followed us and a damn good thing they did too. He saved V's life. If he hadn't been there and had a copter ready, V could've died."

The butterflies were marching to a silent, steady beat in my stomach and I put my hand to my mouth. I felt the urge to retch but tried to bite it back.

"So that's why we need your help. V's gonna be fine, just a little banged up and his arms a bit of a mess. Needs to go to physio for a few months and shit. Dom, Letty and me gotta run. The buster's gonna try and clear our names over the next few months, says he's got something lined up with the Feds that'll take care of it but if we stay here, we're in jail. Dom said about Mexico, him and Letty are already on their way there and I need to leave soon. V and Jesse are in the hospital and…"

"Whoa, hold up. Jesse? What's wrong with Jesse?" Jesse was like my little bro, I had missed him like crazy over the past few years.

Leon looked up at me and tightened his grip, reminding me that I was on his lap. He rested his forehead against my shoulder and sighed.

"Jesse… Johnny Tran has this beef with us. He thinks Dom set the cops after him and he raced Jesse at the Wars and won his car. Jesse panicked and bolted. He made it back to the house but Tran and his crew drove by… they shot him."

I was up like a whip.

"Jesus fucking Christ Leon! I leave for three years and you guys pull all this shit? What the fuck were you thinking?" There were tears streaming down my face now and I couldn't tell if they were from anger or sorrow or what. My emotions were so mixed and changing at a million miles an hour. I was no longer the cool, calm Max my new friends knew me as. I was an emotional fucking rollercoaster.

"Damn it Dylan, can you just stop?" He roared. "I'm fucking begging you for help. You're the only one left. Mia's on her way to Miami with the buster and I gotta go to Mexico. Jesse's lying in a coma and V's at the hospital, probably trying to kill his doctor by now! All we're asking is for a few months. Stay wit them until we get this shit sorted and then if you want to return to your new life with your new friends and your pretty little boy then you can."

I didn't bother asking how he knew so much about my new life. Jesse probably had a rap sheet a mile long with my name on top.

"Please, Dylan." His voice cracked on my name again and I wrapped my arms around him, allowing him to rest his head on my stomach. His shoulders shook with silent sobs and I stroked my fingers through his hair.

"Shh, baby, it's okay." I soothed him. "I got this."

He looked up at me, his eyes shinning and my heart broke. I did not want to be here. The last thing I wanted to do right now was get dragged back into my old life but I couldn't say no. Not to Leon. Not when he was looking up at me with those desperate green eyes.

Leon had been my best friend for a long ass time and when I left I should've stayed in contact with him. I hadn't and this was the result. If I'd been contactable, maybe I could've talked him and Letty out of it. And if I'd talked Letty out of it, she'd have convinced Dom and the whole stupid thing wouldn't have played out this way.

"Look, has Vince got his phone?"

Leon nodded and I returned the gesture, my brain whirring.

"Right, get on the road and call him. Tell him I'm on my way to get him. I'll go pick him up, then swing by and grab some stuff. I'll need to take a leave of absence from work, I guess, and a friend of mine works at LA county, she can keep an eye on Jesse when we're not there. What's the deal with Vince and the cops? They after him for this?"

"Nah, Brian managed to get him off on some trumped up charge. He's free to go. I think it's Dom they're after and me and Letty."

"Okay then. Get going."

He stood up, towering over me and smiled down at me, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. Only me, Letty and Mia had ever gotten to see the tender side of the boys on the team. They hide their emotions well, but not around us.

"I love you, baby girl." He told me and I nodded.

"I love you too, brother." He grinned and dropped a kiss on my forehead. His lips lingered there for a few seconds and he sighed.

"Be careful. Don't let him push you too hard."

"I won't. Watch your back and let me know as soon as you get to Mexico. Use a payphone and call my cell. Don't call the house, it could have a bug, and dump your cell in a bin and get a pay as you go one in Mexico. Tell Dom and Letty that I love them and to be careful and God damn it, Leon, you had better come back in one piece."

He nodded seriously. "I'll see you when I see you?"

I watched as he left, his head bowed and his shoulders hunched as he wandered down the street. The Skyline must've been parked a few blocks away or else at DTs.

I closed the door and took a deep breath, glancing around the house. It was so different and yet much the same.

I never thought I'd come back but it looked like I was moving back in.


	3. The Hospital, Part 1

Don't own the characters you recognise. Please read and review. Also, the part after the line is a flashback. There'll probably be a few of those in the story!

I took my time driving to the hospital, still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I was being pushed back into my old life like this.

When I walked out, of the house and the team, I had sworn to myself I wouldn't be convinced to come back. I left when they were at a race, I didn't leave any details about where I was going and until tonight, I had managed to avoid all of them.

I had seen Vince in the bar one night and had quickly feigned sickness and Mary had sent me home with a container of soup and the order to get some rest. I had felt like shit for lying to her but I had managed to avoid him. He never showed up again so I could only assume he was there randomly, and not on a mission to find me.

Vince was the member of the team I wanted to see least and yet here I was, on my way to pick him up from the hospital. It wasn't the first time but it would sure as hell be the last, I promised myself.

I had known Vince my whole life. He had been Dom's best friend and I had been Mia's. We had hung out as a group for years, slowly becoming more and more immersed in the race scene. I moved in with the Torettos when I was fifteen and that's when things began to change.

I was getting older and becoming more interested in boys than in cars. Dom and Vince didn't take that very well, for very different reasons.

Dominic Toretto was the big brother I never had. He was protective and caring and had treated me like his own sister for as long as I could remember.

Vince was different. He had always treated me like I was a nagging little kid, the same way he treated Mia and, to a lesser extent, Letty. I had always assumed I was a bother to him and the only reason he didn't make more of a fuss was because he knew how Dom and Mr Toretto felt about us hanging out in a group. Tony and Dom had always thought it was a good idea that us girls hung out with them; it kept us safe and out of trouble.

When I turned fifteen, I branched out from the group slightly. I was living in their house, working in their store, going to school with Mia and then coming home and spending the evening with everyone and as much as I loved it, I felt like I was suffocating. I was close with a few people in school, but not close enough that I could escape to their house the way I had escaped to the Toretto's when I was younger.

Until I met Jamie.

He was my first boyfriend. My first kiss. He was a year above me in school, a year younger than Dom and Vince. He gave me a ride to the garage a few times when we started dating and I remember the grilling he got from the boys.

A weaker guy would have broken up with me after the second visit but Jamie didn't. We got serious… too serious according to Vince. He was constantly following me around, telling me that Jamie was only using me for one thing, that he was going to hurt me and that I shouldn't go crying to him when it happened.

I didn't believe him and to this day I'm sorry for that. The shit hit the fan on my sixteenth birthday. Jamie and I had been together for eight months and he had decided it was time to sleep with each other.

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"Hey, Mia, you seen my hoop ear rings?"

"Nah, girl, check with Letty though. She said she was looking for a pair yesterday."

I groaned and shook my head, admiring my reflection in the mirror. I was not venturing into Dom's room to see if I could find my hoops. He and Letty had been there for the past four hours and I was pretty sure they weren't talking about the news.

Tony was throwing me a sixteenth birthday party out back. We were having a family barbecue first and then almost everyone at school was coming for a huge party.

I looked myself over critically. My jeans were tight, but not indecently so because the last thing I wanted was for Tony to have the 'talk' with me again. He hated when Mia and I dressed too old for our age and he was very vocal about it. I wore a blue camisole that Mia had lent me and a black work shirt half buttoned. I looked good; mostly due to the make up Letty had put on me before disappearing and the amount of hair crap Mia had poured on my head.

A knock on the bathroom door drew me away from my reflection and I opened the door before turning to the sink to brush my teeth. I did not want bad breath when Jamie showed up.

"You almost done in here?"

I nodded at Vince and gave him a small smile. He grunted and I rolled my eyes. I did not understand that guy and I was pretty sure I didn't want to.

"When's the buster getting here?" He asked, leaning against the doorway. I glanced at him in the mirror and narrowed my eyes but his expression remained the same. Vince looked a lot older than his seventeen years, just like Dom. His arms were crossed over his chest, the muscles tense and coiled. He was constantly riled up, always ready to fight. I knew it had something to do with his home life but I was too much of a chicken to ask for details. I was pretty sure he hated my guts although I wasn't sure why.

"Do you have to call him that?" I asked softly. He gazed at me thoughtfully before sighing.

"Aight. Just for today, since it's your birthday, I'll be nice. I'll call him the asshole instead."

I couldn't help but chuckle and shake my head. I should have been annoyed for my boyfriend but I knew it was the way Vince was. He was loud and obnoxious and insanely arrogant. But he was also loyal and protective and a damn good friend to Dom so I really couldn't fault him. Much.

"Come on, you guys, I'm starving." Dom called from the hallway.

"After the work out Letty gave him, I'm not surprised." I muttered. Vince chuckled and shook his head before pushing me lightly out of the bathroom.

"Go on down, I need a piss."

The barbecue was amazing. The whole family, including V and Letty, gave me gifts and we spent two hours talking and laughing about the most random things. I had missed this. With Letty and Dom dating, and Mia dating the football player, we were rarely alone like this, in one group. We had been growing apart over the year and I realised with a jolt to the stomach that I didn't want it to happen.

"We should do this more often." I commented, biting off a chunk of chicken.

"Do what?" Tony asked. I held a finger up while I chewed and they laughed.

"Have a barbecue. We should do it… I dunno, once a month or once a week or something."

"Yeah, I haven't laughed so hard in weeks." Mia agreed, carefully reapplying her mascara in her pocket mirror.

"That's because balls for brains doesn't have a sense of humour." I reminded her with a smirk. She kicked me under the table and glared mockingly.

"Because the buster does?" She tossed back with a grin. I shook my head and glared at Vince.

"You see what you've started? His name is Jamie."

"His name will be on a gravestone if I catch him sneaking out after curfew again, Miss Dylan." Tony told me with a disapproving look. I smiled sweetly and innocently and nodded, ignoring how tense Vince suddenly was beside me.

"Alright, kids, it's settled then. Sunday will now be our barbecue day."

I whooped and hi fived Mia.

"Now let's clear up the backyard. Your friends will be here soon."

Hours later the party was in full swing. Tony, saying that he trusted us not to get too wasted, had gone to stay in the garage. There was a tiny bedroom off the office and he sometimes stayed there when he was in the garage late. He said he trusted us but really what he meant was that the house had better be tidy by the time he got back, no one was allowed to have unprotected sex and God help us if any boys stayed over in our room. Those were his rules and we followed them gladly.

"Hey beautiful."

I turned and grinned at Jamie, accepting the beer and the hand he held out. He wrapped an arm around my waist and tugged at me lightly. He was drunk already. He didn't drink much and when he did, he got wasted in no time. I giggled at his glazed eyes and shook my head.

"You are drunk, my dear amigo."

"What I am is horny." He whispered, tugging at my belt loops. I giggled again and pulled back. He had been on at me lately, telling me we needed to get more physical. I told him I wasn't ready yet and on top of that Dom would squish him like a bug if he found out. I could see that tonight was gonna be another argument about it. If I could get him through the house and out on to the street, I could get him a cab and send him home and then stay to enjoy the rest of my party.

I was so intent on my plan that I didn't notice him pulling me around the side of the house. It was darker here, and cool in the shade. The sounds of the party were duller now.

"Damn girl, I want you." His lips attacked my neck and rather than the soft little nips I usually received, he bit down. Hard. I yelped and pulled back from him, leaning against the wall and glaring.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Jamie?"

"I think I'm going to have sex with my girlfriend, Dylan."

"Hell no. I told you I wasn't ready. I think you should go."

"No way, nu huh. We've been together for nearly a year. I think I deserve a little ass."

"I think you deserve my foot in your face but hey, we don't always get what we deserve." I snapped at him. He grabbed my arm, his fingers tightening as I winced. He pushed me further against the wall, blocking my body with his and put his face right up to mine. My stomach churned at the smell of the alcohol on his breath.

"Look, baby, its time, alright? We're like the only two people in our class who aren't doing it and I, for one, don't want to be part of that statistic." His words were slurred and slow and statistic sounded more like schadistic. His mouth lowered on to mine and I pressed my lips together before placing my hand firmly on his chest and pushing him away, the way Dom had taught me and Mia to do a few years back. I suddenly wish I'd paid more attention when him and V had taught us how to fight.

"Stop it." He hissed, pushing me back again. Suddenly one of his hands were on my chest, not groping, just holding me in place while the other was fumbling with the button on my jeans.

For the first time, I felt fear. Pure, unfiltered terror. No one would hear me screaming over the music. No one could see us. No one would wonder where I was. Dom and Letty were in his bedroom again and Mia and her footballer were in the kitchen, doing shots. Tony wasn't here and God knows where Vince was. I was on my own for this one.

He had managed to get my button loose and was still slobbering all over my lips, when I suddenly felt the wetness on my face. I didn't know when I started crying but now I couldn't stop. This wasn't Jamie. This wasn't my sweet, good natured boyfriend who sent me flowers this morning and made me mixed tapes and brought me candy when I was sick.

He pulled back for air and I opened my mouth, gulping in oxygen and preparing to scream. His hand moved from my chest to my mouth and his covered the scream before I could release it, staring into my eyes.

His eyes were glazed over and unseeing. He had no idea what he was doing to me. He was so far beyond drunk that he was barely recognisable.

"Just relax, baby. This will be good for us. Make us stronger."

I shook my head and tried to talk but his hand clamped down harder and his mouth moved to my chest suddenly. He bit down on the soft flesh of my breast and tears of pain streaked down my face. I closed my eyes in horror and tried to think of some way to convince him to let me go.

I knew how to fight. I wasn't some weak little girl who couldn't defend herself. But Jamie was almost double my weight and the way he had positioned me left little room for manoeuvring. On top of that I had already had a few beers and my reflexes weren't what they should be.

"That's it baby, just relax…" He yelped suddenly and I was released. I gasped in air and opened my eyes, looking up through tears at my saviour.

Of course. He had predicted this. Knew it would happen. I had never seen him looking so angry before. His face was a perfect mask of rage and hatred and I whimpered as I saw the boot he delivered to Jamie's stomach. Jamie rolled over, holding his knees to his chest and groaning when Vince's boot connected with his back this time.

"V! Don't, please." I grabbed him arm with both hands and pulled him away. He came, reluctantly, and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, pulling me against his chest as I sobbed. His hand came up to my head and held me in place.

Now that I was free the full force of what could have happened hit me. If Vince hadn't shown up… I glanced down at Jamie, unconscious on the grass, and shuddered.

Vince led me inside the house, up the stairs and into the bedroom I shared with Mia. He sat me on the bed, kneeled in front of me and brushed my tears away with his thumb.

"Say the word, baby."

I looked at him in confusion.

"Just say the word and I will fucking kill him."

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	4. The Hospital, Part 2

I wasn't going to update until tomorrow but i came home from work today, turned on my TV and there was the movie! So i took it as a sign!

As always, i don't own the TFATF characters. And a huge thanks to everyone whose reviewed so far; please keep it up!

also, a brief note. Vince's injuries in my story aren't as serious as they were in the movie. It's slightly AU.

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My birthday party was the turning point for me and Vince. He no longer treated me like a spoiled brat and I no longer treated him like an overbearing bully. We were closer now. After picking Jamie up, punching another two times and tossing him on to the front yard for Dom to find later, Vince had led me up to the room I shared with Mia and sat me on the bed, wrapping me in blankets and pulling me against him. I fell asleep on his chest, still sobbing, and when I woke up the next day I had a full blown crush on him.

I had arrived in the hospital during my trip down memory lane and I sat in the car, trying to work up the courage to get out and face him. I knew he would be mad. Hell, mad was an understatement. He would be completely, scarily enraged. And I couldn't blame him.

Vince and I never casually dated. We went from sometimes-friends to an all consuming relationship. He was quick to jealousy, insanely possessive and capable of more love than anyone else I had ever met. I was much the same. We rarely fought with one another and I knew that no matter who I fought with, no matter if I was right or wrong, Vince always had my back. He was always there for me and I was there for him. Right up until…

It didn't bear thinking about right now. I had promised Leon I would look after him and Jesse and that's what I was going to do. I would do them this favour and then I'd be gone before I got caught up in him again. I hoped.

The hospital was brightly lit and busy when I strolled into the out patients ward. There were a group of nurses standing around a nursing station, talking quietly and shaking their heads. Those poor people, I thought. Vince was a bitch when he was injured, even if it was something as simple as a paper cut.

I approached them cautiously, putting a huge smile on my face as they turned to face me. I heard the words 'monster' 'asshole' and 'murder' and knew, without a doubt, who they were talking about.

"Can I help you dear?"

"Yeah, I'm here to pick up Vince Costello."

"Oh thank you Lord." I heard one of the nurses muttering and I chuckled.

"Yeah, he's a handful alright."

"I'll just get his discharge papers ready for you." The nurse smiled before looking me up and down quickly. "Are you sure you'll be okay with him, dear?"

She reminded me of Mary and I grinned honestly. "Yeah, I've seen him a lot worse than this."

She nodded, unconvinced, and pointed me to a room down the hall. I walked slowly, trying to delay the inevitable.

He lay on the bed, his good arm covering his eyes. His clothes were ripped, filthy and covered in dark stains that looked like blood. His vest was stuck to him with sweat and his jeans weren't buttoned up fully, leaving a strip of skin on show around his waist. I could see the coarse trail of hair that started below his belly button and travelled down past his jeans. He was as fucking beautiful as I remember.

Vince had never been the type of guy you would call beautiful but he was. He was a picture of masculine beauty. His legs, covered in the tight dark denim, were perfectly toned and muscular and the tightly corded muscles of his arms were covered in a layer of dark tanned flesh. He was stunning and the butterflies in my stomach had jack knifed as I stared.

My gaze flitted back up to his face and I found his eyes open and staring at me.

"See anything you like?" He croaked. I looked around without answering and poured him a glass of water from the pitcher next to the bed. He drank it gratefully and held his arm out for a refill. After three glasses he pushed himself up and sat on the edge of the bed and I surveyed the damage. His arm was bandaged and he was holding it carefully against his chest. That was the only obvious injury but the grimace on his face told me there was more than I just couldn't see.

"Well, what's the damage?" I asked quietly. He glanced at me, his eyes glazed and unseeing. He was doped up on something. Vince hated taking pills so I could imagine the nurse who served him had gotten an earful.

"The arms bad, gonna need a few months physio on it. The bullet missed everything vital and they plugged the hole so it's fine. Screwed up my ribs. I cracked two of 'em and I needed stitches on my chest. How come you're here?" He sounded hopeful.

I started quickly and looked at him. "Didn't Leon call you?"

"Satan's nurses out there wouldn't give me my cell. Where is everyone?"

"Oh V." I sighed. I reached my hand towards him before I could stop it and found myself with his good arm wrapped around my hips and his head resting on my chest. I stroked my hands through his hair in a gesture that was so familiar it made my chest ache. "We have a lot to talk about."

He nodded against his chest and tightened his hold when I tried to move back.

"Come on, Coyote. We gotta go see Jesse and then we need to get you home and into bed."

"Jesse?" He stared up at me, his arm still around me. I was going to gut Leon the next time I saw him.

"Come on, baby. I'll explain on the way."

He stood up, unsteadily, and I moved so that he could wrap his good arm around my shoulder. I supported him down the hall and sat him down in a plastic chair while I took care of the paper work.

"That's you then, dear. Here's his pills. Make sure he doesn't over do it for the next few weeks and he should come back in two weeks for the stitches to be checked."

"Thanks so much." I smiled at the nurse. "Actually, you couldn't point me in the direction of ICU, could you?"

I listened to her directions and smiled my thanks before dumping the pills and the doctor's card into my bag and heading back for Vince. I helped him up again and we headed towards the elevators. Once inside, I leant against the wall and looked at him. I knew the only reason he wasn't screaming at me was because of the pain killers. Once he woke up tomorrow and his mind was clear, he was going to yell until he was blue in the face.

"Alright V, here's the deal. Leon, Let and Dom are south of the border. Mia and her beau are in Miami, trying to sort this shit out. Jesse… Johnny Tran shot Jesse, he's in ICU right now, in a coma. We're gonna see him and I'm gonna ask a friend of mine to keep an eye on him. Then I need to stop at the bar I work at tell them I'm taking off for a while and I need to grab some shit from my apartment. Then I'm taking you home and you're going to bed."

"Only if you are." He leered. I shook my head and bit back the smile. It was a familiar argument and it made the butterflies take flight again and my mind spin back to the past.

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"Jesus, V, how much did you drink?"

Vince stood, barely, staring at me though hazy, drunk eyes. His swayed slightly before smiling.

"Too much, baby."

"I told you not to call me that, V."

It was the day after Mia's sixteenth birthday and Vince and Dom hadn't stopped drinking since the night before at her party. Now Dom was on his knees in the upstairs bathroom, throwing his guts up as Letty sat on the bath and bitched him out in Spanish and I was relegated the job of getting Vince into bed.

"Sure, baby."

I shivered at the low timbre of his voice before shaking myself out of it. My huge crush on Vince wasn't likely to go anywhere so dwelling on it was pretty useless. But sometimes, when he was as drunk as this, he called me baby and it did things to my stomach that I had never felt before.

"Alright, Vince, time to go to bed."

"Only if you are."

What the hell?"

"Come on Vince, it's late and I'm too tired to deal with this bullshit. You should go to bed."

"Only if you are." He repeated. I stared at him in confusion.

"V?"

"Come to bed with me, baby." He whispered, taking two strides towards me. Suddenly, one of his hands was wrapped in my hair and the other was sliding beneath the material of my vest top. His lips were soft, softer than I ever could have imagined. He walked us backwards until I was against the wall of his bedroom, and his moved his hands down to my hips, lifting me easily and holding me steady with his body.

A year ago yesterday Jamie had tried the same thing and Vince had saved me. Now, I was pretty sure I didn't want saving.

The butterflies were going nuts and my head was empty of every thought except for how good he felt against me. His hands were beneath my shirt again, one tracing circles on my ribcage and the other holding my head to his.

He tasted like Corona and the chicken we had ate for diner, and he smelt like Vince. Sweat and beer and oil and the soap he used in the shower.

He broke off from me and hauled me up against him, before backing towards the bed. He sat down and settled me on his lap, allowing me to wrap my legs completely around him. He growled, low in his throat, at the action and tightened his grip, his lips moving away from mine and trailing a path down my jaw to my neck. They felt good. Amazing, even. I must have let out some sort of sound because the next thing I knew, he was chuckling against my skin and God, even that felt hot. The scrape of his beard against the delicate skin of my jaw made me shiver.

"V…" I whimpered. Suddenly I was on the bed and he was standing over me, his eyes wide and panicked. His ran his hands through his hair a few times and cursed loudly.

"V?" I asked. Had I done something wrong? Jamie had been my only boyfriend and we had never really gotten very far when it came to making out and damn, nothing Jamie ever did felt as good as Vince's mouth on my skin.

"Shit, Dylan, I never shoulda started that." He looked stricken and I felt my heart sink. I guess I was still that nerdy little kid who hung around too much. For a while there, while he'd been pressed against me, I had felt like an adult.

"I'm… sorry?" I spoke softly. I stood up from the bed and started for the door. His warm hand wrapped around my wrist and tugged me until I was facing him.

"Screw it."

His lips were on mine again and he backed me towards the bed, grabbing me around the back and lowering me onto it slowly. I knew I should stop him. Push him away, tell him this was wrong and he was drunk, he would regret it in the morning. But I couldn't. Because the second he found the spot where my neck met my shoulders and bit softly, I lost all coherent thought. I couldn't concentrate on anything anymore, other than what he was doing and how it made me feel. I knew Dom and Tony would pitch a fit if they found us like this and I knew Vince would probably regret it the next day but I couldn't push him away.

We stayed in that position for a few minutes, just kissing slowly and then speeding up and then slowing back down. Vince eventually pulled away, his breathing laboured and his eyes a few shades darker than usual as he stared down at me.

"Damn." He muttered. He pushed himself off me and I almost groaned at the loss of contact. We lay side by side, both staring at the ceiling and trying to get our breathing under control again.

"What was that?" I asked after five minutes of utter silence. There was no answer and I glanced over at him. His eyes were closed and his breath had evened out. The asshole had fallen asleep on me!

I shook my head and stood up, stretching. My skin still felt tingly from where he'd grabbed me and if I wasn't mistaken, I was going to have one hell of a hickey on my shoulder tomorrow. I hoped to God it wasn't too hot for turtle necks.

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That night marked the start of our relationship. He woke the next day and sought me out. I assumed he was going to apologize and tell me it didn't mean anything but instead he told me he'd been wanting to do it for years and now that I was legal there was no need to hold back. Then he had kissed me again, pressing me against the wall outside my bedroom, much to Mia's embarrassment and amusement.

ICU was pretty empty when the elevator descended into it and I looked around for Nat. Nat was a friend of mine who frequented the bar with a few of the other doctors from this hospital. We weren't the best of friends, but she was in the bar frequently and we had hung out a few times. I knew she would keep an eye on Jesse for me.

"Max, what the hell are you doing here?"

Speak of the devil. Nat stood behind me, a clipboard in her hand. She looked so odd in her doctor's outfit that I chuckled. I was used to the jeans and vest Nat, not the suit and white coat.

"Hey, Nat, I need a favour." I smiled at her. She glanced from me to Vince, who was still wrapped around me, and back again with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course."

"I got a friend, admitted earlier for a gunshot wound?"

"A Mr… Black?"

"That's Jess. He alright?" Vince asked from beside me, his voice gruff. Nat looked at him, startled, before shaking her head.

"Too early to tell right now. The bullet missed all of his arteries, luckily, but he lost a lot of blood. He's still being transfused and we won't know anything for a while. He's in a coma right now, from what I can tell, he hit the pavement hard. So what's this favour? You know I can't let you see him, right? ICU is for immediate family only. No exceptions."

"I get that, Nat. No, I was wondering if you could keep an eye on him… you know, let me know if anything happens. Anything at all… even something small."

"Of course. I'm on call all week so if anything happens I'll call you at the bar or at the apartment?"

"Actually, I'm taking off work for a while. And I won't be at the apartment but here's my cell. Call me there, anytime."

She nodded and accepted the scrap of paper I held out before glancing at Vince again.

"Hey, Max, can I talk to you for a few seconds? Your friend is in that room right there, if you want to look through the window. Sometimes it helps to assure yourself that he's okay."

Vince nodded and stumbled towards the window, leaning his head against it and Nat led me towards the nursing station.

"Hey, I know it's none of my business but are you okay? That guy you're with? He came in with a gun wound as well. And I heard a rumour he had something to do with those truck jackings that have been going on? I don't know about the little guy but the bigger one… he seems like bad news."

I sighed and shook my head. "He had nothing to do with the trucks. They're old friends and they've no one to help out at home while they're recovering. I couldn't say no. And Vince is fine… just a little temperamental sometimes."

She nodded disbelievingly. "What does Mike thing about it?"

I shrugged. "Haven't gotten round to telling him yet. I'm gonna give him and Naomi a call later."

"Okay. Just be careful, sweetie." I nodded and smiled.

"Sure, Nat. And thanks."

She nodded and went to answer the ringing phone while I went to collect Vince from the window.

"Let's go home big guy."

I couldn't look at Jesse. If I saw him, lying there unconscious and weak… I'd break down.

Vince wrapped his arm around my shoulder and I led him back towards the elevators.


	5. A Month At Least

Thank you for all the reviews. i'm glad you like it. I know its going a little slow at the minute, but it will speed up. please read and review.

as always, unfortunately, i don't own the characters you recognise from the movie.

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The ride to the bar was silent. I think Vince was sleeping, his head resting against his window. His fingers were curled around my knee and I didn't have the heart or the energy to push them away. Part of me knew that as soon as those pain killers wore off, Vince and I were likely to start world war 3 and I was taking advantage of the fact that, for now at least, he didn't hate my guts.

I pulled into the bar, tapping Vince on the knee.

"Hey, V, wake up."

He groaned and opened his eyes blearily. "Wha'?"

"I have to go inside for a few. You want to wait here?"

He nodded and rested his head against the back of the seat. I pried his fingers off my knee, much to his displeasure, and climbed out of the car.

"Hey, Max, I thought you were taking off for the night?"

I smiled at Emma, one of the younger part timers, and shrugged.

"I gotta talk to Mama."

She nodded towards the office and I waved my thanks.

"Hey, Mama."

She looked up, startled, and I smiled.

"Max, I wasn't expecting you back tonight."

"Yeah, I know. Listen, I have to leave."

There was no point sugar coating it but I winced at the look of shock on her face. She hadn't been expecting that. She put down the papers she was reading through and stared at me.

"Okay… and by leaving you mean what exactly?"

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "That guy on the phone for me earlier? He was an old friend of mine."

"A good friend?"

"The absolute best. But we… fell out, kinda, a few years back and I haven't spoken to him since then. But he's in trouble. My family is in trouble and I'm the only person they got left so I have to go and help them."

Mary nodded slowly, still staring at me. "And these guys, they're good men?"

I looked at her, narrowing my eyes slightly. Did she know something about them?

"Yeah, they are." I replied. "Look, I'll be gone for maybe a couple of months… a month at least. You okay to get someone to fill for me?"

"Of course. You just keep me posted on how its going with them. And you let me know if you need anything, you hear me?"

I smiled and nodded, hugging her quickly before leaving. I headed to the break room and opened my locker, grabbing the spare bag of clothes I left there.

On my way out of the bar I was stopped by a few regulars. I smiled and chatted for a few seconds with one of the doctors who worked with Nat before finally slipping out of the door.

Vince was sleeping as I climbed back into the car and I placed my hand on his good shoulder and pushed lightly. No one had said anything about head injuries or concussions but I wanted to be sure.

"Hey, Vince, wake up."

"A few more minutes baby." His voice was gruff and sleepy and made me smile softly.

"Come on, Vince, I need to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine, D."

I sighed and started the car. He grumbled wordlessly and turned slightly to face me.

"Why'd you leave me?"

My hands clenched on the wheel and I glanced at him. He was looking at me through bleary, unseeing eyes.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow."

"Yeah, if you're still around." His voice was bitter and I winced. The painkillers were wearing off.

"I'm going to be around for a while."

"You promise?"

Few people got to see the softer side of Vince Costello. He rarely, and never in front of strangers or people he considered enemies, showed any vulnerability. I was probably the only person who had ever seen this side of him.

"Yeah, I promise."

He nodded and closed his eyes again and, inspired by his presence in my car, I picked up my speed, flying across the empty road to my apartment building.

Hours later, after tucking Vince away in bed, I sat at the kitchen table, nursing another Bacardi and lemon as I stared out the window at the back yard. Everything was so messed up. Vince was downstairs, damaged more than he was letting on even if he thought I didn't know it, Jesse was in a coma and three of my best friends were on the run in Mexico. I hoped this guy Mia was with would be able to pull off the miracle he was supposedly working and soon.

The longer I sat here, the more I was assaulted by memories of my life here. Barbecues in the backyard followed by nights at the races followed by all night parties and dealing with the mess through our hangovers. I remembered nights spent in front of the television, being tucked up against Vince as we complained about the movie. There were long, hot days at the garage filled with laughter and loud chatter and long, dark nights filled with just the two of us, tucked away in our little corner of the basement.

Not all the memories were good though. As I sat here, the loss of Tony hit me like it did the first time I found out.

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"Mia, you ready to head home, girl?" I stood with Letty, leaning against the locker next to Mia's, and staring at the people passing us. Tony had written the three of us notes to get us out of school at lunch so we could head home and fire up the barbecue for him and the boys coming home. We would be having a victory party that afternoon when they came back from the circuit. Mia, as always, was fretting about getting into trouble for cutting class.

"You're not cutting," Letty reminded her. "We have a parent's note. Now get your ass in gear and let's go. I need to get out of this damn uniform."

Letty, Mia and I had the unfortunate pleasure of going to a Catholic school and the even worse pleasure of being forced to wear the ugliest uniform on the planet. A black and white pleated skirt, which had to reach the knee at all times, and a short sleeved white shirt over a white camisole. Under no circumstances was your bra allowed to be seen in school. An uncomfortable, itchy jumper finished the 'outfit' but it was usually to hot to even consider wearing it.

Mia sighed, finally closing her locker. "Alright already, let's go. But if I fail my algebra test, I'm blaming the both of you."

I rolled my eyes at Letty and she grinned, wrapping an arm excitedly around my neck. Letty was into the races and the car shit a lot more than me or Mia were. I liked cars and I liked races but for Letty, they were vital to her happiness. She had been so angry that Tony made her go to school instead of to the track with Vince and Dom but she was getting over it now that we were leaving.

"I'm so excited." Mia commented from the backseat of Letty's car as we sped down the street.

"Me too." Letty gave a very out of character girly squeal that made us laugh.

"Me three, I guess." I chuckled. Letty hit the button for the radio and an old Beach Boys song filled the car and pretty soon the three of us where singing along at the top of our lungs.

We were laughing insanely when we finally pulled up to the fort. I climbed out first, running to unlock the door.

"Alright, Letty girl, you're on music detail. Mia, me and you gonna start the cooking."

Letty sprinted up to the stairs and returned moments later with a portable CD player.

"We doing radio?"

I nodded as I continued to prepare the salad. Soon, music was blasting into the backyard, where Letty was tidying up the mess left by Vince and Dom's impromptu water fight last night.

Mia was busy pulling the meat out and seasoning it while I fixed the salad into a huge bowl. Then I sat about grabbing plates and cutlery and glasses, carrying them out to set the table. Letty was dancing as she threw trash into a bag and I sang along with the stupid oldies station she had on.

That was how they found us. Mia had come out and had set the meat below the barbecue, ready to be cooked and the three of us were dancing and twirling around in circles, singing. The three of us used to do it all the time, because the singing annoyed the boys and they hated it when we banged into them when we were spinning but it had been awhile and it felt great. School was almost over for the summer, Tony was going to win his big race and then he would come home and we could all party together.

Mia noticed them first and it was her stopping that caused me to stop with a giggle. I looked up and the laughter died. I knew. Dom's eyes were red and swollen and there was a grief stricken look on Vince's face that I had never seen before and hoped to never see again.

"Dom?" Letty questioned and I knew that she, like me, needed to hear what he had to say.

"Some guy…" He broke off, clearing his throat and reaching blindly for Letty. I wrapped an arm around Mia and felt her returning the gesture, her grip painfully tight.

"A racer clipped dad on the side as he passed him, sent him into the wall. The car… it blew up." His voice broke on the last word and he buried his face in Letty's neck. His huge shoulders were shaking as he sobbed and I could feel my own tears sliding down my face. Tony couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be. I tightened my grip on a crying Mia and sighed as Vince wrapped his arms around the two of us from behind me, placing a chaste kiss on the nape of my neck.

Tony Toretto had taken us in, fed us and clothed us and looked after us better than our own families could have. There was a sudden pain in my chest as I cried and I was pretty sure it was my heart breaking.

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I could feel tears sliding down my face as I sat at the table. Tony Toretto was the best man I had ever known.

"Jesus, T, how did we get so fucked up?" I muttered. I was suddenly exhausted. I had held it together all night but now all I wanted to do was crawl into my own bed and cry. It was a pity my own bed was on the other side of the city and the only bed I had slept in in the house was currently occupied by Vince.

I headed into the living room and surveyed the couch. It would do for now. I could head down and tidy Leon's bedroom tomorrow and sleep there.

I lay on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling and listening to the utter silence in the house. It was unnatural. In the old days, before I left, this time of the night was for Leon and Jesse playing videogames while Dom and Letty sat on the couch and watched. Mia would be in her room studying and Vince and I would be in the kitchen, me tidying compulsively and him playing his guitar and telling me about his day. Then, depending on our mood, we'd watch a movie or play a stupid game or just sit around the living room and talk, the boys and Letty drinking their Coronas and Mia and me drinking soda.

I tucked myself into the back of the sofa and closed my eyes, desperate for sleep to over take me. I wanted this day over as quickly as possible so that I could get tomorrow over me. I had a feeling, in the pit of my stomach, that tomorrow was going to be the worst day of my life. Vince's pain killers would have worn off and I needed my rest to deal with him.


	6. Vince

As usual, i don't own the characters from the movie. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! i'm glad eveyrone's liking it and i promise the pace will pick up soon. The next few chapters will prob have a lot of flashback scenes in them, just to give you all an insight into Dylan and Vince. Please read and review. Also, apologies if this chapter sucks.. i'm awful at writting guys pov's.

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_Vince's POV_

A shrill ringing woke me up from my drug infused sleep and I looked around the dark room, my heart speeding up. The past few days came back to me in a series of flashes and images. I remember Mia flipping out about the heists. I remember the guy having a gun. A shooting pain ran down my arm at the memory and I glanced at it. I remember waking up at the hospital and being force fed those damn painkillers… and I remember who came to pick me up and take me home.

I hadn't seen her in three and a half years. I went to the races one night and she stayed at home. That should have been my first hint. Dylan never stayed at home if I went to the races. She rode with me and then we came home, partied and went to bed. It wasn't that she didn't trust me; she knew I would never cheat on her. I wasn't Dom. When Mr T told us to respect the women we were with, I listened. I'm a one woman man and she knew that. She didn't trust the chasers though. She spent one too many nights locked in Mia's bedroom with Mia and Letty, comforting Let after she found Dom with yet another whore during the first year of his release from Lompoc.

But she didn't come with me that night and I never said anything because it had been one hell of a week. I should have stayed with her. If I'd stayed at home… sure, Dom would've been pissed but he'd have gotten over it since it was for D. She had him wrapped around her little finger, had since she was eleven and we were thirteen. I guess the same thing could be said about me.

She left while we were at the races. No contact details, no address, no reason. Just packed up her things from our room and left. Needless to say, there was no party that night. It ended swiftly when I threatened to kill some little punk who asked where the 'other hot Toretto sister' was. It took Leon, Dom and Letty to restrain me.

I spent a year looking for her. I got Jesse to try to track her down but there was no sign. It was like she disappeared. I couldn't find her anywhere. Slowly my grief turned to agony and then to anger. Pure, unfiltered rage. I had given up a lot to be with her and she threw it all away. I decided that I hated her and I was able to keep up that feeling for the next two years… until Mia found her.

Mia had been on a date with some college punk, before the buster showed up and screwed everything up, and he'd taken her to this little bar on the other side of town. There were photos on the wall and Mia was looking at them while her date was getting them drinks and she recognised Dylan immediately. She asked around the bar but no one had ever heard of a Dylan Murphy but it was fine. We had enough info for Jesse to use. He found out where she worked, where she lived and who she lived with. Some chick named Nicole. We soon knew a lot about her and I wanted to storm in, grab her from the bar and bring her home. I wanted to make her explain her reasons for leaving. I wanted her back.

Sure, I'd spent two years denying her existence and pretending that she meant nothing to me and sure, everyone outside of the team believed my bullshit. The chasers chased me and I brought them home, screwed them and then kicked them out. There was even a girl I got close to… until I called her Dylan while in bed. She threw a fit and stormed out, saying that I had issues and I could go fuck myself.

Since then, I'd been trying to convince Dom to let me go find her but he'd been putting me off, telling me we needed to concentrate on the trucks. I knew he was right. I figured, we'd do this last job and have enough cash to cover our asses and a lot to spare and then I could go find my girl and make her come back home with me.

Then the shit hit the fan and I'm left with an ugly ass scar down my side and chest and a bad arm that would take months to heal. But she was here. Upstairs. Answering the phone.

I was torn between anger and joy. I wanted to yell at her, to shake her and make her explain and just pulling her to me and kissing her senseless. It wasn't so much anger that won out as curiosity. I needed to know why she left.

I made my way up the stairs and into the kitchen and watched her. She was sitting at the kitchen table, the phone cradled between her cheek and her shoulder as she played with the salt shaker. Her hair was shorter and darker than it had been when she left. It was a dark brown and ended just below her chin. It left the nape of her neck, my favourite part of her entire body, and the tattoo that covered it bare to my eyes. I remembered the day she went to get the tattoo and smiled.

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"V, I don't know if this is such a good idea."

I rolled my eyes at Mia and climbed out of the car, slamming the door behind me. Letty pulled in behind me and she and Dylan climbed out in a haze of perfume and laughter. Letty was leaning on the car, laughing so hard that she couldn't stand and Dylan was holding her stomach.

"Let's go, chuckles." I yelled at them and Dylan grinned at me, sprinting towards me and jumping. I caught her easily, swinging her so that she was against the car and I was against her. She smirked and ran a hand through my hair. I loved the feel of her hands in my hair.

"Oh come on, guys. Get a room."

"We have one but you guys made us leave it, remember?" Dylan yelled at Letty with a grin. I let her down and slid my hands into her back pocket, hauling her against my side.

It had been a long time since the four of us had been so carefree and… young. With Mr T dying and Dom getting arrested and sent to prison the four of us had been stuck trying to figure out a way to keep our lives from falling apart. Mia, being only seventeen, was supposed to be living with her aunt but was still with us, going to school during the day and working at the store at night. Letty and I were holding down the garage and Dylan was flitting between both, as well as doing the books for both and running the house. It was thanks to my girl we ate every night and that we had clean clothes and a tidy house to go home to.

The store and the garage were doing well enough that money wasn't a huge deal and there was no mortgage or anything to pay on the businesses or the house so we were lucky that way. But we weren't well off enough that we could afford to hire many other people. Mia's friend from school helped out in the store and Dylan had dropped out, to mine, Dom and Letty's protests, so that she could work there in the mornings and afternoons. We were surviving but the pain was still raw.

That was the point of our little excursion that afternoon. Letty and Dylan wanted tattoos and as I was unable to say no to anything Dylan wanted, I was taking them to the guy who'd done my dragon.

"You nervous?" I asked Dylan as we followed Letty and Mia inside. She glared up at me and I chuckled.

"Yeah, didn't think so."

"Hey, V, man what's up?"

I let go of Dylan and grinned at the tattoo artist. Lenny was a huge guy, easily towering over me and the three girls but he was gentle giant. His arms were covered with full sleeves, colourful designs twisting and mixing with one another to create a masterpiece. His face was covered in piercings and I saw Mia glanced carefully at me to see how safe he was.

"You here for another?"

"Not me, man, my girls. This is my girl Dylan."

"No shit? Man, he talked non stop about you when he was here little girl."

Dylan grinned and glanced at me slyly and I groaned.

"Oh really? Good or bad?"

Lenny laughed and shook his head and I ploughed on.

"This is Letty and Mia, the other two girls I live with."

"Man, you are one lucky son of a bitch." Lenny laughed.

"Hey now, you don't want Carla to hear that or she'll tear you a new one."

Carla was Lenny's tiny wife. And I mean, she was tiny. I had met her during one of my sessions doing the dragon and had been amazed they were together.

"So what are you girls after?"

Letty launched into a description of what she wanted and then she and Lenny headed to his station and I saw him beginning to sketch. Mia was wandering around, looking at the colourful flash designs on the wall, biting her lip the way she did when she was thinking about something.

Dylan stood in the middle of the room, staring at a picture on the wall. I followed her gaze and smiled. It was a rose, coloured dark red with petals curling inwards.

"You like that, baby?"

"You don't think it's a little… gay?"

"I think it would look absolutely perfect… right… here." I kissed the nape of her neck softly, smiling as she shuddered and rested against me.

"There it is, then." She grinned up at me excitedly and I tightened my grip.

"Hey, Mia, girl, you thinking of one?"

"I'm thinking that Dom would kill me."

"That's why you get one he can't see." Dylan sniggered. Mia shook her head.

"Nah, I'm a big chicken."

"Alrighty, Miss Dylan, why don't you come over here and let me know what it is you want. Charlie's gonna get started on Letty's."

I watched Dylan skip over to Lenny and point out the rose and he grinned, nodding.

"I can do that. Now what do you think about…"

Mia joined me on the wooden bench and we watched as the two of them got inked. Dylan looked perfectly relaxed, sitting on the backwards chair with her arms flung out in front of her. Letty and Charlie were humming along to the song on the radio and Mia was nodding her head to the beat.

I picked up a tattoo magazine and waited patiently.

When they were done, I looked over at Dylan's. She had gotten the rose in a lighter shade of red, with darker red as the outline. A few petals were inked falling from the rose, as if they were falling down her spine. It was beautiful, perfect for her.

"Stunning." I whispered to her as Lenny bandaged her up. She smiled up at me and grabbed my hand as we waited on Letty.

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The tattoo was as gorgeous now as it had been on that day.

"Look, Mia, I'm staying until they're better, that's it. Then I'm gone… I don't belong here anymore. Yeah, okay… call me tomorrow when you know more? Bye."

I stared at the back of her head, anger churning in my stomach.

"You'll always belong here."

She turned quickly, catching herself on the edge of the table. She winced and placed her hand on her hip, staring at me.

She was still the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. I had fallen in love with her on her somewhere between the ages of thirteen and sixteen. At first I was repulsed at the thought. She was younger than me and Dom and Mr T would've killed me if I tried anything. I know she thought that I thought of her as an annoying little kid but she was wrong. I avoided her because if I didn't, I'd do something I regretted.

It took a twenty four hour long binge for me to gather up the courage to just kiss her and once I started I found I couldn't stop. Mr T wasn't as bad as I thought. I remember the day we told him and Dom.

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Dylan's hand was warm and soft inside mine and I took a deep breath as I led her out to the backyard. Tony was at the grill, flipping burgers and laughing at something Mia was reading from the paper. Dom and Letty were at the picnic table, her sitting on his lap and him resting his head on her shoulder. If Mr T could accept them, he could accept us. He had to.

"Hey, V, man where you…" Dom's words trailed off as he took in the sight of Dylan's hand in mine. I could feel the sweat on my back and I tightened my grip. Dylan tightened hers in response and led me towards Dom and Letty. Tony and Mia weren't paying us any attention.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Dom moved Letty off his lap carefully and stood facing me. We were eye to eye and I took a deep breath. Dom didn't scare me, not really. Sure he was a little bigger than me but I was the better fighter. I always had been. The thing that scared me most was that he and Mr T would tell us me I couldn't be with Dylan.

We'd been sneaking around for months. Mia knew, because Mia knew everything, and I think Letty suspected it but the Toretto men weren't known for the perceptiveness and the fact that Dylan snuck down to my room every night had gone unnoticed by them.

"Look, Dom, I'm not playing her. I'm not messing her around or stringing her along or any of that shit. I like her, man, a hell of a lot." I spoke softly, letting go of Dylan's hand and gearing myself up for a fight.

"Dom, please." Dylan's tone was soft and soothing. She placed a hand on his forearm and he turned to look at her, shaking his head.

"No, D. No way. You know how he is with girls… he hangs out with skanks and treats them like shit."

"Yeah, but I'm no skank and so far he's treated me like a fucking queen. He takes care of me and he defends me and he's never said or done anything that could hurt me. Dom, he's your best friend and you know him. You know he wouldn't risk this," she held her arms out to indicate the house and the family. "If he wasn't serious about me."

Dom glared at me, his fists clenched and I could feel the rage radiating off him. I made a move to pull Dylan out of the line of fire and was caught off guard by his fist. I groaned at the pain and glared at him, ready to fight back when Dylan stood between us, glaring at Dom.

"If you hurt her, man, I will end you." I nodded at his words and he sighed, holding his hand out for me to shake. I grasped it and smiled at Dylan's outraged look as Letty chuckled.

"Boys." Was Mia's only comment on the matter as she sat down beside Letty. Tony took the head of the table and looked from Dom to me.

"Someone want to explain this to me?"

"Daddy, Vince and Dylan are together now. Don't make a fuss, just eat your dinner and we'll explain everything later." Mia said matter of factly. I chuckled at Tony's confused look and shot Mia a thankful smile as her father turned his attention to his chicken.

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	7. Vince Part 2

As always, don't own the characters you recognise. PLease read and review.

Mr T never did flip out on us. He took it calmly and serenely, although he did warn me that if I ever thought about cheating on her or hurting her in any way he would neuter me. And I believed him, because Mr T never lied to us. Not that I had any intention of doing either of those things. I always thought Mr T had the right attitude with women. He was a world apart from my dad, who hit my mom every chance he got and who slept with anyone stupid or drunk enough to spread their legs for him.

I remembered when I was fourteen and hanging out with Dom in his living room, messing around on the Playstation. There was a picture of a much younger Mr T with his arms around a much younger Mrs T. She had died a few years earlier but she was a great woman. She was warm and welcoming and always had a smile for me, even when I dragged in mud or ate too fast at the table or slurped my food. She was my ideal woman when I was growing up and I remembered asking Mr T how he had gotten her. He had picked up the photo, smiling softly and gave me the best advice I had ever heard.

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"Hey, Mr T."

"Vince, where'd Dom go?"

"He headed up to have a shower. Hey, Mr T, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, bud. What's up?"

"You know Mrs T? How did you get a woman like her?"

It was an honest question. Mr T was a grease monkey. He was always tinkering with cars and coming home filthy from the garage. Mrs T was a classy lady. I always remembered that from when my dad screamed at my mom about it.

Mrs T wore summer dresses and sandals and she always smelt fresh… like flowers or something. My mom wore jeans and vests, when she got dressed, and smelt like stale beer and pot. Only I'm not supposed to know about the pot since I'm only fourteen and she thinks I'm still four.

Mrs T was always smiling and singing as she worked on her garden and she always asked me how my day was when I called into the café with Dom. She made the best roast beef and mayo sandwiches with the crusts cut off and the bread cut into four little triangles. She always had cold juice boxes for us after school and she always treated me like she treated Dom. Like her own flesh and blood son. Mr T used to lift her and spin her around when he came home from the garage and she used to throw her head back and laugh. They used to kiss and cuddle in the kitchen when she was cooking and she would drop by the garage in the summer, bringing us food and cold lemonade.

She was my perfect woman.

Mr T chuckled and ran a grubby hand over the grey stubble on his chin and cheeks.

"Well, Vince, the thing you gotta remember with women is this… treat them right. You get a good girl and you keep her happy. You don't cheat on her, you don't beat on her, you don't look down on her… you treat your girl like the lady she is and she won't have no reason to look elsewhere." He smiled softly at me and I nodded seriously, carefully storing all the information in my head.

"Here's the thing, Vince. We men like to think we're tough bastards. But even the toughest bastard melts in the hands of a good woman, you know? If you get a woman like that… you treat her right. A good woman, one who loves you for who you are… that's hard to find so if you're one of the lucky men who gets a girl like that, you hang on tight. You understand?"

"Yeah, I think so." I smiled at him and he nodded. The door flung open and the girls wandered in, their loud laughter spilling through the house.

"Mia, Letty, Dylan… you girls go get changed. I'm gonna bring all my favourite kids out for ice cream." Mr T called. I heard their excited yells and winced.

Girls.

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I smiled at the memory and she looked at me wearily.

"Vince, you should go back to bed. Seriously. You look half dead and we need to talk."

"Yeah, we do." I retorted. "How about you start with why the hell you left in the middle of the night?"

"How about you go to bed and we talk in the morning?" She replied.

"How about no?"

"How about you stop being a douche bag?"

"How about…"

"Jesus, V, enough!" She threw her hands up in the air before running them through her short hair. She narrowed her eyes at me and straightened her vest top nervously. Her eyes flitted around the room before coming to rest on me again and I smirked. She was nervous around me and I wasn't clear headed enough to really guess why.

"Vince… please go to bed."

"Only if you are." I smirked. I saw the flash in her eyes and laughed.

"Vince, stop being a jackass. I'm gonna go sleep in Leon's room. We'll talk in the morning."

I watched as she left the kitchen, heading for the basement door. I followed slowly, heading back to my own bedroom. I stood in the doorway, watching Dylan climb into Leon's bed with a scowl on my face. I waited until she glanced up and saw me before stepping inside and closing my door.

Laying myself down on the bed, I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the continual shooting pains up my arm.

The silence woke me. Mornings in the Toretto household were never quiet. Too many loud people in the same, small space meant a hell of a lot of noise. Breakfast was usually a crazy affair filled with arguments, play fighting and yelling. The silence that morning brought yesterday's events crashing back down on me and with that thought a pain snaked up my arm and made me grimace. The painkillers had well and truly worn off now and I was clear headed once more.

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and getting my thoughts in order.

First off, Jesse was in a coma. Skinny, sweet Jesse who never hurt nobody. In a coma. Because of the stupid rift with Tran. It wasn't over the car. The car was just the icing on the fucking cake for Tran. It was all my fault. It was me Tran hated with a passion, me he'd been trying to get back at ever since we were nineteen. Sure, Dom pissed him off by sleeping with his whore of a sister but Tran got over that. What he never got over was the business deal and the fact that I embarrassed him in front of his mommy and girlfriend. And now Jesse was in a coma.

Leon, Letty and Dom were on the run. To Mexico most likely. Letty always had a thing for the ocean and Dom would want her somewhere she felt comfortable. Leon would stick with them instead of going off on his own.

The buster and Mia were in Miami, looking at some sort of gig to get us out of this mess. But it could take up to a few months and God knows what else could go wrong during that time.

Then there was the little matter of my ex girlfriend being across the basement, sleeping in Leon's room. The ex girlfriend I was sure I would never see again. Now that the painkillers were no longer holding my rage back, I could feel the anger stirring in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to storm in there, pull her out of bed and force her to tell me why she left me, why she left the team… her family. I wanted to know why she waited until we were all out of the house. Why she ran off during the night, with no explanation, no forwarding number… no way of contacting her if anything had gone wrong. She hadn't even taken her car. It was parked in a corner of DT, gathering dust.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I became and the angrier I became, the more my arm hurt. I glanced down and loosened my grip. I had tightened my fist to the point of pain.

With a grunt I pushed myself up and headed for the Mia's room. Once there, I peeled my shirt off and looked at the long, ugly scar that ran down my torso. It was stitched in places and still looked red and raw. My arm was bandaged and looked twice its normal size with all the wrapping around it. Hopefully I wouldn't be out of commission for too long with it.

Dylan was in the kitchen when I got upstairs, dressed in light summer dress and sandals. She was leaning against the kitchen cabinet, the phone in one hand and a half eaten apple in the other. She had been in the shower recently and smelt like Letty. I wrinkled my nose up and frowned. It wasn't that Letty didn't smell nice, it was just that she didn't smell like Dylan. Dylan always smelt floral and pretty, whereas Letty smelt muskier. I stared at her, waiting on her to look up at me and acknowledge my presence.

"Hey… yeah, it's really me." She chuckled and shook her head, her eyes meeting mine. I saw the smile droop a little before coming back in full force. "Yeah, he called me yesterday and filled me in on everything. I'm looking after V and Jesse… coma, yeah. Dunno but I got a friend who works in that hospital and she's keeping a close eye on him for us. Yeah, I'll pass it on. That's actually why I'm calling… can you spare me a few guys to keep the garage ticking over while Dom's gone. Hopefully it'll only be a month or so… yeah? Hector, I owe you big time, thanks bro."

She nodded her head towards the table and I glanced over, my stomach rumbling when it took notice of the plate of food sitting there. I sat down and watched as she poured me a glass of juice, still listening to Hector ramble on. She was looking after me as if she'd never left.

Hector had always had a soft spot for Dylan. She was always so nice and cheerful at the races and his little sister Allie had always hung around her and Mia in school so he had gotten to know her pretty well. He was always good for keeping an eye out on her when we were racing and he and I got along pretty well because of it.

"Alright, Hector, maybe we'll stop by but he sure as hell won't be racing. Not a chance, bro. I'll drop by later with the keys to the garage. Thanks, man."

She hung up the phone and sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"One job down." She groaned. I watched her in silence, finishing my now cold pancakes. "Hey, you want some coffee?"

I nodded and couldn't help but smile as she moved to pour two cups of coffee. The smile widened as she fixed the coffee exactly as I liked it. She sat it in front of me before sitting at the seat opposite.

"So."

"So." I repeated. She glared at me resentfully and I smiled. "You gonna tell me why you left now?"

"Does it really matter?" She asked softly. "It's been three years, V. What difference does it make now?"

"You're kidding right?" My voice was starting to rise and I saw her wince but I didn't stop. "You think I don't want to know what the hell made my girlfriend run out on me while I was out? You think I don't deserve answers? Jesus, Dylan, I searched for over a year for you! I looked everywhere! I thought you were fucking dead! That Tran had gotten to you while we were out! I thought… you know what, yeah it does matter. I want to know why you left. Now."

She stared at the table, twirling the silver ring Mr T gave her for her sixteenth birthday around her finger. She did that a lot when she was thinking or when she was nervous. "Vince…"

"No, Dylan. No shrugging this off with a sarcastic comment or by saying you're too busy. We're going to talk about this."

"I know. And we will. But right now, I gotta go open the café. And we have to go see Jesse later. We'll talk when everything calms down."

I shook my head, downing my coffee and standing up.

"Whatever. I'm gonna have a shower and then I'm heading into the garage."

She stood up quickly, moving to block the doorway before I reached it.

"Don't be so ridiculous, Vince, you can't work on cars with your arm bandaged up like that."

"I can work on the paperwork. I can take calls. I can make arrangements and I can look the cars over and see what's wrong with them." I snapped. "That garage is my livelihood… the team's livelihood. I'm not gonna let it go down the drain or trust it to a few of Hector's idiot friends and stand by while they run it into the ground. I'm not a damn invalid."

"I never said you were…"

"Then don't treat me like one." I cut her off. "I'll be ready in an hour and we can leave."

I could feel her glare on the back of my neck, like a solid weight. I knew she was angry at me but there was no way I was making this any easier on her. All I wanted was answers. If she would just sit down and talk to me, tell me what had gone wrong and why she'd left I'd be able to relax a little and settle into my plan of getting her back. But until she talked to me… really talked to me, I wasn't going to bother making an effort. If she was going to act as if we hadn't spent almost five years together, then I could do the same. I hoped.


	8. The Books

After dropping Vince off at Hectors and telling him I'd come collect him later, I drove straight to the store. The store was where I'd spent the majority of my teenage years. I had worked there after school since I was thirteen and when I left school, I spent most of my days there, right up until I left. It looked pretty much the same as it had before I left and as I pulled open the shutters, I sighed. I enjoyed working at the bar so much more than working at Torettos and the thought of being back here, even if it was for only a month, depressed me.

Memories assaulted me as I opened up. When I pressed play on the CD player, Mia's R n B music spilled into the store and I winced, changing it to an oldies channel quickly. Jesse had installed the CD player a few weeks after arriving and it had been a godsend. It warded off the boredom slightly when we could listen to music instead of silence.

A few customers came in after I opened and I served them with a forced smile and false cheer. I didn't want to be here.

Once the breakfast rush died off, I sat behind the counter and picked up the phone. This was the part I was least looking forward to. I had put it off since last night, reassuring myself that I was too tired to deal with the questions that would come with the phone call.

I picked up the phone and dialled the phone number I knew off by heart. It rang for a few seconds before he picked up, out of breath.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

"Max? Where have you been? I called by the bar last night after work and Mary said that you'd left to go help some estranged family member? What's going on?"

"Slow down, Mike. I'll explain everything later. First, I'm staying with friends for a while…"

"How long is a while?"

I paused, fiddling with the sugar packets on the counter, before answering.

"A few months maybe."

"A few months? Who are these friends? How can you afford to take a few months off work? Have you thought this through?"

I remembered the day I met Mike. He was nothing like any of the guys in the team and I think that's what attracted me to him. We had met at Naomi's graduation party at the bar.

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"Can I have two Coronas and a shot of Jack?"

I glanced up at the sound of the drink, like I did every single time someone ordered it, and smiled at the sandy blonde man in front of me. He was about my age, maybe slightly older, and had dark eyes and a wide, friendly grin.

"What's the magic word?" I asked jokingly. His grin widened and he chuckled.

"Please?"

"Nah, but close enough."

I gathered his drinks, feeling his gaze on me as I moved. He wasn't the first guy to flirt with me in the bar but so far he was the only one I'd been interested in enough to flirt back.

I'd been working in the bar for a little over a year and a half and it had been two and a half years since I left home. I had dated a few guys, on and off, but nothing serious. A serious relationship was the last thing I needed after everything that had happened so the most I would see a guy these days was three dates.

"So, what's a pretty girl like yourself doing in a dump like this?"

I chuckled and raised an eyebrow as I served another customer, a regular called Jenny. She winked at me and nodded towards him before heading back to her table.

"It's not a dump. Not really. Our clientele is mostly professionals, doctors, teachers, bankers… we got good music, we got good food if you get here early enough and we got good drinks at good prices." I defended. It was true, too. The bar was actually a pretty nice one and it was a great place to work.

"Not to mention the beautiful bar staff."

"And the cheesy ass customers." I grinned. "Your drinks are gonna get warm standing here."

He chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I'll take the hint for now. But I'll be back. Name's Mike."

"Alright then, Mike." I winked and headed to the other side of the bar.

For the next hour and a half his friends approached the bar, always ordering the same two Coronas and shot of Jack. Mike didn't approach the bar until twenty minutes before my shift was due to end. Naomi and her college friends had arrived and were sitting in a booth, waiting on me to finish up.

It was a little before midnight when I looked up and found him smiling at me again.

"So, pretty barmaid, I can't remember your name…"

"Well, that's because I never gave you my name, oh sleazy bar patron."

"Oh, you think I'm sleazy, huh?"

"You're up here hitting on me, aren't you?"

He laughed and I smiled.

"Hey, can I get your number… I'd love to take you out and get insulted some more."

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We'd been dating for just under six months. He was almost perfect; he paid attention to me, he complimented me, he brought me out for fancy dinners and he wasn't overly jealous or possessive. Sure, there were problems in our relationship and we weren't exactly out of the honeymoon period yet but it was nice to be in a normal relationship with a normal guy who couldn't load and lock a 9mm in under ten seconds.

Mike's voice pulled me out of my haze and I sighed.

"Honey, I just want you to be careful. I know you're not comfortable with your past and you don't like talking about it and I respect that. But if you're so uncomfortable with it, how can you expect to come out of this unscathed?"

"Look, Mike, here's the thing. I'm not entirely comfortable with this but there's nothing I can do about it. These guys are my family, I can't leave them hanging."

I glanced up as a car engine roared past the shop. It was a sound familiar to me and it brought back dozens of memories of long, hot summer days spent here, the monotony broken up only by a lunchtime visit from Vince.

"Alright, honey, if you're sure."

Mike brought me back to the present again and I rubbed my eyes.

"I am, Mike. I am. Look, I'm helping out by running their store so I gotta go. But I'll call you later and we can go for dinner or something soon, okay?"

"Alright. Call me tonight, okay? I lo…"

I hung up before he could finish and took a deep breath. This was turning out to be harder than I thought it would.

The lunchtime rush distracted me and as the late afternoon slump started, I pulled the books out from the office and sat at the counter with them. They weren't the same precise, organised books I had left. Instead, Mia's messy scrawl covered pages and pages and I groaned. I couldn't have books like this, it would irritate me. I walked over to the stationary aisle and grabbed a clean notebook and turned to the first page of this year's book.

Four hours of painstakingly writing out the costing and profit of the store and my fingers were cramped, my head aching and my mood sour. A glance at the clock told me it was after eight and when I saw that I cursed. Loudly. I probably should have picked Vince up hours ago. He was probably aching and if he was in pain, he was going to act like a bitch when we got home.

I shut the shop up quickly and carried the two books out to the car with me, throwing them into the passenger seat before heading back to the store, setting the alarm and pulling down the shutters.

I dialled Vince's number as I began driving, pressing the phone to my ear and steering with one hand. The roads were surprisingly empty for this time on a Sunday night and I sped down them, listening to the ringing on the other end of the line.

"Yo."

"That is no way to answer the phone." I scolded automatically. It was an old argument and the sound of his husky voice on the line brought me back to all the phone calls we'd had.

"You coming to pick me up anytime soon?" He snapped. "Garage has been closed for three hours now."

"What, you couldn't have gotten one of Hector's boys give you a ride home?"

"How would I have gotten in touch with you? My cell won't dial out."

"Well that would've been nice to know this morning. How the hell were you planning on getting in touch with me if anything had gone wrong?"

"Guess I wasn't. Hey, maybe I was just waiting on you fucking off as soon as I left the house."

I had no response to that.

"I'll be by in five minutes." I told him before hanging up the phone and rubbing my eyes. I could feel the familiar burn of tears and bit my lip to keep them in. I remembered the night I left clearly. Vince and the guys were going to a race but I'd begged out, telling them I hadn't felt up to it.

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"You sure you'll be okay here by yourself, baby?"

I looked up from the book I was reading and smiled at Vince. He was dressed in his usual jeans and beater, his hair scruffy and sticking in all directions as he ran his fingers through it.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, Vince."

He nodded, looking at me carefully. He climbed over the pile of books on the floor beside me and settled himself next to me on the bed. He pulled The Commitments out of my hand and set it on the bedside table next to me, reaching up with a hand and turning my face to his.

"I love you." He murmured against my lips. His lips were soft and warm and I melted against him, feeling my resolve waver. His fingers stroked against the skin of my neck and shoulders, brushing softly against the bruises there.

"I'm gonna take care of you, you know that right?"

I nodded, resting my head on his shoulder and wrapping my arms around his waist. I took a deep breath, breathing in the scent that was all Vince. I wanted to store the smell of him and the feel of him wrapped around me deep inside my brain so that I could remember it if I actually went through with this.

"I gotta go. I'll come straight back after the race, okay?"

I nodded and reached up for one final kiss. He left the room without looking back and I waited five minutes after I heard the sound of their engines taking off before standing up. I couldn't see through my blurry eyes as I slowly packed up my belongings from our room. I threw my clothes into bin bags, my CDs and books into a suitcase. Naomi was gonna come and pick me up in an hour and I would be leaving the only home I had ever known. For good.

Along with my own clothes, I threw in a few of Vince's shirts and his favourite black leather jacket. I grabbed a few pictures of us and of the gang and put them in my bag.

I looked around the room before I left, the tears dripping from my face onto the floor.

A huge part of me wanted to stay here, wanted to wait until Vince came home, wrap myself up in him and tell him everything that was wrong with me. But I couldn't stay here. Not with the memories, not with the constant threat over my head. Sure, Tran was in hospital but he wouldn't be out of commission forever and I did not want to be here when he got back.

I grabbed my bags, lugging them up the stairs and setting them by the door before taking a walk around the house. I grabbed one of Letty's candles from the living room, throwing it into my bag. I could light it in my new room in Naomi's apartment and remind myself of the family I was throwing away.

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I knew I had to talk to Vince but I really didn't want to. I knew what his reactions would be and I wanted to avoid it for as long as possible. At the same time, I knew once we talked everything through, he wouldn't be as tense and snappy. It was hard to decide what I would rather avoid more; pissed off Vince or pissed off Vince.

DTs was closed and Vince was sitting against the shutters as I pulled up. I beeped the horn and he looked up, glaring at me. I rolled my eyes and threw the passenger seat open for him to climb in.

The ride back to the fort was silent except for the music from the radio. It was an old Bob Dylan song and I sang along softly under my voice.

"You want something to eat?" I asked softly once we were inside. Vince nodded before throwing himself onto the sofa, flicking the television on.

I sighed as I moved around the kitchen, making a salad as the chicken cooked in the oven. The house was so quiet, it was eerie. I could hear the television from the living room, but that was the only noise. Dinnertime in the Toretto household was always a noisy, messy affair. I used to love cooking in the kitchen while chaos ran riot throughout the rest of the house. Dom always kept the jokers out of the kitchen so that I could get on with the food.

I put the radio on to drown out the silence and began setting the table. I finished putting out two plates and straightened up, jumping as I found myself looking up at Vince. He was leaning against the doorway on his good arm, while cradling his bad arm against his chest.

"Hey, how's the arm?" I asked softly. He shrugged and sat down at his usual seat. Everyone in the team had their own assigned seat. After Mr T died, Dom took the spot at the head of the table and Mia sat at the foot of it. Letty sat next to Mia and across from Jesse. Leon sat next to Jesse and I sat between him and Dom and facing Vince. That's where we sat once I served the chicken. We ate in silence, the radio still on in the kitchen and the music drifting through to us. I tapped my feet to the beat as I ate, my head nodding along. I glanced up and caught Vince staring at me, a strange look on hid face.

"What?" I asked, putting my fork down and picking up my glass of juice.

"Are you ever gonna tell me why you left?"

I sighed and looked down at the table. He tapped the wood beneath my eyes and I looked back up at him. There was no anger on his face for once. He looked like the Vince I knew before I left. The carefree Vince who thought nothing of blowing off work for a day to stay in bed with me. The happy Vince who would dance about our bedroom and play air guitar to ACDC just to make me laugh. And I knew, in that second, that I loved him. And I had to tell him.


	9. The Explanation

Okay, this one is kind of long. It has the explanation for why Dylan left. i don't really like this chapter but please let me know what you think. and thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far.

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The phone ringing pulled me out of my thoughts and I glanced at Vince before I got up to answer it. It was Hector, asking about the races.

"Hey, Vince, you want to go to the races tonight?" I asked softly. He shook his head without looking at me and I nodded even though he couldn't see me.

"Nah, Hector, we're gonna give it a miss tonight. Maybe next week or something. Alright, man, have a good one."

I hung up the phone and went to sit back at the table.

"Alright, you want to know why I left?"

He looked up at me, his eyes wide and disbelieving. "Hell yeah, I do."

I took a deep breath and rubbed my eyes, thinking back to the day everything had gone wrong.

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"Hey, Mia, I'm gonna head to the post office to post these cheques. I'll be back in an hour, tops."

Mia waved her hand at me without looking up from her magazine. She sat behind the counter at Toretto's, her feet up and moving to the beat from the radio.

I smiled and headed to the car, throwing my bag into the passenger seat and slipping my sunglasses on. The sun was bright and blinding, and the sky was a perfect blue colour. I cranked up the volume in the car and pressed my foot to the pedal, singing along to the radio as I drove.

I pulled into the car park of the mall, climbing out and locking the car. I turned to head towards the entrance, stopping in my tracks at the sound of motorcycles pulling in.

Through my sunglasses I spotted Johnny Tran. I didn't know much about him… only that he hated Dom and Vince with a passion and that he was some rich kid with too much money and not enough sense. I knew him and Dom had some sort of business agreement and that it had gone wrong. But I had never spoken to him, or his cousin Lance. I was pretty sure Dom had slept with his sister Trina but had never really gotten the whole story. The one thing about Johnny Tran and his family I was absolutely sure about was that they were bad news. Good for lending out money and even better for collecting it.

After seeing him at the races once, even though it was from far away and I'd only commented on his bike, Vince had looked me in the eye and warned me never to go near him. As he strolled confidently towards me, a smirk on his handsome face and his eyes concealed with dark glasses, I could hear Vince's warning clearly in my head.

"Well, well, Miss Murphy. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get you alone? Without those apes you live with?"

He reached into his jacket and I jerked slightly with nerves. I could feel someone behind me but didn't dare look away from Tran to see who it was. A glint of silver caught my eye and my heart sped up as Tran pulled a long knife from inside his jacket, slowly and purposefully. I glanced around the car park and cursed inwardly as I came up empty. It was the middle of the Goddamn day, how the hell was there no one around?

"There's no one here to save you, Miss Murphy. But don't worry. I'm not going to do much damage… not today, anyway."

I licked my dry lips and glared up at him, glad I was still wearing my sunglasses so that he couldn't see the fear in my eyes. Guys like him got off on fear and I'd be damned if I helped him along in this little scenario.

He smirked at me again, tapping the knife against his index finger as he stared down at me.

"Now, Miss Murphy, this is just a warning. I want you to go and tell that lug of a boyfriend of yours that we want paid and we want paid soon. Or we'll be back. Maybe it won't be you, next time. Maybe it'll be sweet little Mia. Or feisty little Letty. Who knows? But it'll be one of you and we won't be as friendly… or maybe we'll be friendlier. Show you what real men are."

Whoever was behind me grabbed my hands and held them behind my back and I winced at the tight grip. Johnny leaned down, running the cold steel of the knife against my collarbone and up my throat. I bit back a scream as the knife bit into the skin just below my ear.

Tran laughed, scraping the knife against my neck again before the hands holding me pushed me forward, sending me to the ground to stare up at their retreating figures.

I stood up slowly, my legs shaking and tears streaming down my face. I had always thought of myself as a strong person, as someone who could handle herself if she came by trouble. Vince and Dom made damn sure me, Mia and Letty could defend ourselves and when Leon came along, he taught me some martial arts stuff.

So why was I sitting in a parking lot, crying like a victim?

I strode towards my car, ignoring the blood that was slipping down the skin of my neck. I wanted Tran to hurt. I wanted to go and find him and hold a knife to his neck, to see how he liked it. I wanted to get someone to hold his arms behind him while I cut through his skin, wanted to see the blood trickle down his neck like it was trickling down mine.

I broke every speed limit I could, driving through red lights and stop signs in my haste to get to DTs.

I needed to see Vince. I needed to be reassured that I was gonna be okay. That Tran wouldn't be back for me, that I would be safe and I needed to hear it from V.

Vince had been my protector for years. Even before we started dating, him and Dom were the two scary big guys that hung around me, Mia and Letty and scared off all potential suitors and bullies. When V and I started going out, that protectiveness tripled. If any one so much at looked at me the wrong way, Vince would knock them out. It was both infuriatingly frustrating and amazingly reassuring and it was exactly what I needed right now.

I tore into the garage, ignoring the squeal of my wheels on the ground and climbed out of the car. The tears streaming down my face were coming hot and heavy, blurring my sight and dripping onto my shirt to mix with the blood.

I ran into Leon first and heard the loud curse he uttered.

"Damn, baby, what happened to you?"

I felt his arm wrap around my waist and he pretty much carried me into the garage. I wiped at my eyes and looked around. Letty's legs were sticking out from under her car and I could hear her cursing loudly in Spanish. Jesse and Dom were looking at the engine in a red Nissan, talking softly. Vince was no where to be seen.

"Leon, where's V?" I asked softly.

Dom's head shot up at the sound of my voice and he glanced over at me, freezing in place as his eyes took me in. I knew I must have looked a mess because I could feel the blood still dripping onto my white vest but the look of horror on his face really brought the situation home to me and my legs gave out, making me grab onto Leon to stay upright.

"Vince, man, get out here." Leon yelled, lifting me easily and setting me on a work bench.

Dom reached us and pushed Leon roughly out of the way. As I looked up into his worried, reassuring dark eyes I felt the tears start up again.

"Who?"

The barely restrained rage in Dom's voice made me sob harder and I buried my face in his neck and his arms twined around me.

Dom was my big brother and right now I needed comfort more than he needed an explanation. I gripped his shirt with my fingers, sobbing silently against him as the memories swirled around me.

"V! Man, seriously." Letty screamed towards the office door as she stood next to me. I hadn't noticed her move from beneath the car but there she was, her eyes wide and scared as she took me in. I pulled back from Dom, wiping the tears from my eyes as the door to the office swung open and a bleary eyes Vince wandered out. He looked as if he'd been taking a nap, with his hair sticking up in every direction and his eyes narrow and sleepy.

He looked around the room, his eyes finally resting on the group of us by the work bench.

Leon and Jesse swiftly moved from in front of me to beside the bench with Letty as Vince strode towards us. Dom stayed in front of me, his hand on my shoulder and his eyes boring into me.

"What's goin' on… who the fuck done that?"

He went from sleepy to pissed in less than two seconds. He pushed Dom out of the way and came to rest between my knees. He lifted my face carefully, his eyes darkening with anger as he gazed at the wound.

"Letty, grab the first aid kit." Dom told her. "We need to cover that and get you to a hospital."

"What the hell happened?" Vince asked again. He stepped aside slightly to let Letty brush the blood away. I winced as she applied antiseptic to the wound and covered it with a bandage.

"I ain't an expert but I think that it was a superficial wound. More blood than actual damage." She told me. "But I think Dom's right, you need a doc."

I shook my head, reaching a hand up to touch the wound carefully.

"It doesn't even hurt." I assured them. "I think I'm more in shock than anything else."

"Shock ain't healthy, baby girl." Leon told me quietly. "We're taking you to a doc."

"Who?" Dom asked his question softly but it stopped the conversation immediately. I glanced at Vince, taking in the furious expression on his face and the rage in his dark blue eyes. His grip was tight on my hand and for a second I was reminded of the man behind me, holding my arms, and I shivered.

"Johnny Tran." I muttered.

"Mother fucker, I'm gonna kill him." Vince growled. I tightened my grip on him, pulling him closer to me and he let me. He held my face to his chest and stroked my hair but I could feel the anger pulsating. I could feel how fast his heart was beating and I took a deep breath, telling them the whole story.

By the time I was done, I was crying again and Vince had knocked a hole in the plaster of the wall. Dom and Letty were leaning against the wall, his arms around her and I could read the expression on his face easily. He was relieved it wasn't her. Or Mia. I knew Dom loved me like a sister and I knew that he would go after Tran and beat him to within an inch of his life but I also knew that when it came down to it… he was glad it was me and not them. And I couldn't fault him for it because I was glad too. I hated the thought of Mia being alone with those creeps and even though I knew Letty could fight better than me she was too tough to handle it. She'd have been a smart ass and probably would have gotten herself hurt a lot worse than I was just for her attitude. Out of the three of us… I was glad it was me. Plus, now that V knew, that would be the end of it.

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It wasn't the end of it. As I thought back to the hazy months that followed, my hand unconsciously drifted to the scar below my ear. Vince's eyes followed me and I sighed, dropping my fingers to the table again. I had no idea how to put this into words. No clue how to express how and what I had been feeling at the time.

"Dylan? Just spit it out." He sighed.

I sighed, my mind wandering back to my second encounter with the Tran family. After I had shown up in the garage, Jesse and Letty had taken me to the hospital where we met Mia. Leon, Dom and Vince had headed to the Tran house. From what I heard later, Vince went nuts. He put Lance Tran in the hospital and Johnny Tran was never able to use his right arm in the same way again.

But it didn't matter. Because three months later, when we had settled back into our routine, they came back. And there were more of them and they did a lot more than scratch me with a knife.

They grabbed me from the shop and held me in one of their family's warehouses down by the docks. They kept me for four days, alternately beating me black and blue and making me listen to their lewd comments. Lance was the worst. Although he never raped me, he came close. Twice. And he was constantly touching me in places I'd rather he didn't. He really seemed to hate Vince and had convinced himself that having me was the best way to get under his skin.

After the four days they dropped me at the hospital, bound and broken and with a strict warning. I could still hear their voices now and I sighed.

"Tran made me swear I'd leave."

Vince's head snapped up and he glared angrily. "Tran made you swear you'd leave? Really? That's you excuse?"

"It's not a fucking excuse, V, it's the reason. He said that if I didn't leave, he'd just keep coming back and it would just keep getting worse. And I'm sorry, but I could not go through that again. You have no idea what they done to me, no idea how I felt, stuck in that warehouse for four days!"

"No, I don't, because you never told me what they did. I asked and I asked and you refused to tell me! I wasn't gonna force you to relive that if you didn't want to." He was pissed and I couldn't help but respond in kind.

"Oh, but you'll make me do it now?" He looked as if I'd slapped him and I winced. "Look, V, you wanted to know and now I'm telling you. After he finished kicking me and slapping me around, Tran told me that he'd keep coming back for me. He said he'd just keep doing worse and worse things to me until I either left or died. And I couldn't go through that again. They almost killed me, Vince, if I hadn't left they would have done it again. And again and again."

"We put Tran into a coma." He hissed. "He wouldn't have gotten near you again. I could have protected you…"

"You put him into a coma for three weeks, V, but then he woke up. And he got better and he got out and if I'd still been here he'd have come back for me… just like he did after you put him in the hospital the first time." I ran my fingers through my hair and bit my lip to stop the tears from falling. I hadn't expected this to be so hard but looking at him, the raw pain on his face made me feel like a class A bitch for leaving him with no explanation or reason at all. At the time, I felt like I'd had no other choice but to leave. Now, staring at the angry, bitter, hurt look on V's face, I was starting to regret it. I sighed and stood up, pacing around the room as I struggled to keep the tears from spilling over.

"Why didn't you tell me this at the time?" Vince sighed. I glanced at him, startled to see that his head was resting in his hands and his shoulders were tense.

"When, V? I woke up in the hospital and the only ones there were Leon and Mia. Letty and Jesse were working at the garage and you and Dom were busy chasing Tran…"

"Of course we were busy chasing him! He fucking hurt you, I wasn't letting him get away with that."

"And I never expected you to. But I did expect you to be the first person I saw when I woke up. But you weren't. Jesus, V, you realise you never once came to see me while I was in the hospital? You came to pick me up the next day, but you didn't come and visit me. After that… I guess taking Tran's advice was the best thing for me to do."

"I came to visit you…"

"No, you didn't. You came to get me the day I was discharged but you didn't come visit me. I was there three days and…"

"I came while you were asleep." He broke in. I stared at him in shock. No one had ever told me he'd come to visit.

"What?" He nodded, meeting my eyes.

"I couldn't… I couldn't face you looking like that. You were bruised and busted up and I couldn't look at you without wanting to kill someone. You didn't see yourself…" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "If you were awake and talking and scared, I would've flipped. I would have ended up marching down to Tran's room and strangling him. Actually, strangling wouldn't have been violent enough. I would have had to bring him out of his coma and then put him back into one. I visited when you were asleep because… because it was easier. And I know it made me an asshole but I thought you of all people would have known that I wasn't some heartless bastard who didn't visit his girl."

I stared at him before shaking my head.

"What kind of logic is that, Vince? I woke up in a hospital and I'm supposed to be able to guess that you're coming to see me while I'm sleeping because you can't face me when I'm awake?"

I shook my head and he scowled. "I never said it made sense! I'm just… I'm trying to explain. I would've explained three years ago, of course, except you took off in the middle of the night!"

I took a deep, calming breath and sat down, facing him. "Look, V. You asked for my reason and I gave you it. I couldn't go through that again and I didn't know what you were thinking or what was going on… so I left. And I'm sorry I never told you or left a note or a number but let's face it. If I'd left a number you'd have followed me and brought me back and if I'd told you… would you have let me go?"

We stared at each other in silence before he stood up and left, leaving me to release the breath I'd been holding and allowing the tears to escape.


	10. The Fight

Sorry it took so long to update. My boss was off for two weeks so ive been running things and its been hectic. Anyway, enjoy. please review and let me know waht you think.

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"Have I told you how stunning you look tonight?"

I glanced up at Mike and gave him what I hoped was a radiant smile. He took my hand in his and squeezed lightly as we waited on the elevator reaching the top floor.

It had been four days since I explained everything to Vince and the tension in the house was tangible. He hadn't spoken to me since it, although that wasn't really saying anything since the only time I saw him was at breakfast.

We'd fallen into a routine. I would get up and make breakfast, then go shower and return to the kitchen by the time he woke up to reheat breakfast. We sat at the table in complete silence, me reading the newspaper and him glaring at the top of my head. When we finished, one of Hector's boys would rap the door and pick Vince up to go to the garage. I could only guess that the same guy was driving V around town and to the hospital to visit Jesse because I sure wasn't and he wasn't up to driving himself.

After he left, I would drive to the store and work there all day before going to see Jesse.

There was no change in him and every time I saw his thin body hooked up to the tubes in that bed, I felt another little bit of my heart break. I had spoken to Leon three times since he left, mindless banter that I was pretty sure put me back in his good books. The best part about Leon was that he was so forgiving. If there was a fall out in the group, Leon and Jesse were always the first to forgive. I had always admired their ability to not hold a grudge like the rest of us.

I had spoken to Mia a few times, strictly about business. She was beyond pissed at me and I could understand that. A part of me didn't want to get too close to any of them again because I wasn't really planning on staying any longer than necessarily. Talking to Leon so often was making my determination slip slightly. Mia and her cop seemed to be doing a pretty good job in Miami and she had told me it would only take another month or two to get it all wrapped up.

So Vince and I weren't talking and it made living with him tense and frustrating. I hated silence and I knew he did too so it amazed me that he was so stubborn he wouldn't even make small talk with me.

He had left for a party at Edwin's before I got home from the store that evening. The only reason I knew this, of course, was because Edwin had left a message on my machine inviting me along. I had to decline because Mike had called earlier that week to arrange for to go for dinner with some of his friends and their wives and girlfriends. It was some sort of reunion thing and since I hadn't seen him in a while I couldn't say no.

So here I was, dressed in a silky purple slip dress and killer heels, with my arm through Mike's and a fake smile plastered on my face. As we entered the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel, a uniformed man stepped forward to take our coats. I handed him my shrug with a polite smile and followed Mike towards the largest, noisiest table in the room. There were at least twenty people there, all talking and laughing over one another. The men seemed more acquainted than the women and they all seemed to greet Mike at once. He wrapped an arm around my waist and squeezed tightly as he introduced me to the table.

I was a little ashamed that I hadn't met more of Mike's friend in the six months we'd been going out. He was always so open and honest with me about everything that I felt as if I'd met his friends I would have to introduce him to mine. I hadn't told him anything about the Torettos or Vince and Letty, Leon and Jesse. I hadn't told him about living in the Fort for most of my life or the circumstances of me leaving and I wanted to avoid the conversation for as long as humanly possible. He had asked a few times but had accepted my reluctance with a grace that I could never muster.

As he pulled out my seat for me, I realised how lucky I was to have met him. He winked at me before sitting next to me and taking my hand, leaning over to talk to the guy facing us.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Three hours later and I was feeling the effect of mixing champagne and rum. The party had moved to a run down bar not far from the hotel and I had been sitting with two girls who had known Mike since elementary school. They were regaling me with stories of him wetting his bed and kissing his cousin and other embarrassing childhood habits. The three of us were laughing raucously and drawing attention from the other members of the group. They seemed to smile indulgently at us, before turning back to their own conversations.

"So, Max, you have to tell us some embarrassing childhood stories of yours." Tina laughed heartily. I grinned, awkward now that the attention had been turned to me. I shrugged a shoulder and smiled coyly.

"I'll save those for our next party." The two of them laughed and I smiled in relief as the topic turned to someone else.

"Max, don't look now but that tall guy has been staring at you since he and his friends came in."

I stared at Marie in surprise, before whipping around in the direction she was looking in. Sure enough, there he stood. Hector was beside him, whispering furiously in his ear but I could tell he wasn't listening.

I could pin point the exact minute our eyes met because my breath hitched in my throat and his lips turned up in a smirk. His eyes ran slowly down my body, the gaze like a heated caress against my skin. It was the look he'd spent most of our relationship giving me; the one that plainly said he wanted me. The one that made me want him too.

In that instant I realised exactly how much I'd drank and how dangerous that was when I was in the same place as Vince and Mike. If Vince had been drinking, and it was highly unlikely that he hadn't been, he would be confrontational. I did not want my carefully elaborated world to come crashing down around me over something as stupid as ending up in the same bar as him.

"Good God that man is walking sex." Tina breathed by my ear.

"I love the bad boy type." Maria chimed in. "I bet I could tame him."

They giggled together and nudged me, murmuring about how big his hands were, how tough he looked.

"He's a real man." Maria commented. "None of this new man bullshit with him."

"Check out that beard. You think it leaves stubble rash?"

I wanted to tell them that yeah, it left stubble rash. I wanted to tell them that his hands weren't just big, they were large and calloused and could grip so tightly you thought they would break you. I wanted to tell them that there wasn't a chance in hell that they could tame him because he was the Coyote and coyotes weren't tame animals. I wanted to tell them absolutely that he belonged to me and they could keep their comments to themselves.

As suddenly as the thought appeared, I was on my feet and heading for the bar. I needed a drink and I needed one badly. What the hell was I thinking? I could practically see myself sauntering over to him and claiming him as mine in the middle of the bar, the same way he was claiming me with his eyes.

There was a long mirror behind the bar, running across the entire length of it and through it I could see Mike. He was talking with his friends, his head thrown back in a carefree laugh. I tore my eyes away from him and looked for V. He was no longer standing in his spot.

As I released the breath I was holding, a hand slipped across the silk of my dress and settled low on my belly. I could feel the heat of the hand through the material of the dress and my breath hitched loudly in my throat as he ran his bearded chin across the bare skin of my shoulders. Yep, there would be stubble rash. His breath was hot and wet on my ear and I couldn't help the shudder than ran down my spine at the feel of it. He chuckled against my neck and tightened his hand, pulling the material of my dress up a little.

"You know I'm so mad at you… I'm damn pissed that you left and even more pissed at the fact that it took all this shit to happen for you to come back… but damn baby. All I can think of right now is you lying on our bed in nothing but those fucking shoes..."

He was gone in an instant and when I opened my eyes all I could see was my reflection. My eyes were dark, my mouth parted in a silent whimper. His sweaty hand had left an imprint on the silk of my dress, a clear sign that he was marking his territory. There was a faint red mark on my neck and my fingers were turning white with the grip I had on the bar. The bar maid smirked as she approached me and I shook my head at her. If I had any more alcohol, all my self control would vanish and I'd be on Vince in a second.

The bar maid leant on the bar beside me and her smirk widened. "That was about the hottest thing I ever saw."

I turned and tried to glare at her but I knew my attempt was half assed. I tried to follow Vince in the mirror, watching as the muscles of his back rippled as he walked. His beater stuck to his skin and I envisioned pulling it off him. I was envisioning doing a hell of a lot more than that and as I stood there at the bar, my legs weak and my stomach spinning, I remembered all the times Vince had whispered to me or brushed his beard against my neck.

"Honey, you okay?"

I jumped as Mike placed a hand on my shoulder. I was sure I looked guilty as I smiled at him and he stared at me in confusion.

"I'm actually a little tired. I think I'm going to head home. Call me a cab?"

He nodded slowly before sighing and rubbing the back of his neck. It was a move he made when he was preoccupied or feeling guilty and I narrowed my eyes.

"Look, I don't want you to be mad at me but…" I watched with narrowed eyes as he pulled my cell phone out of his back pocket and held it out to me.

"What the hell?" I hadn't even noticed it was missing after we'd left the hotel. I had assumed it was still in the bag I held under my arm.

"Please, just listen to me. Ever since you left work and have been helping out these 'old friends'" He actually made quotation marks with his fingers as I glared. "You've had no time for me. You hang up your phone at the drop of a hat and tell me you'll call me back but you never do. You've broken three dates and you spend all your time in that shop or at the hospital. I needed some time with my girlfriend."

"Oh, because we've spent a lot of time together tonight?" I snapped in reply. "You left me with your friends while you went and stood in a corner all night, like a fucking creep."

Maybe it was the rum combined with the lust and frustration, but suddenly I was enraged.

"And how dare you stand there and preach to me about how much time I'm spending with you? I told you what was going on! I told you about my friend being in hospital. What, you can't give me a few months to help my friends out? You need to see and talk to me constantly? Are you dependent on me suddenly?"

"You're being completely irrational!" Mike snapped, his face going red. We were both so drunk that I knew this would not end well.

"How? How am I being irrational? You stole my damn cell phone! What if the hospital had called? What if something had happened to Jesse while you had it and I couldn't be reached. Oh my God, give me the fucking phone!" There were angry tears running down my face as I grabbed my phone away from him. There were a few missed calls from Vince's cell and a new voice mail but that was it.

"Stop creating such a scene." He hissed at me. "I took the phone and I'm sorry. But I'd do it again tomorrow because at least we got a date out of it."

"Are you listening to yourself? Do you even care that Jesse is in hospital?"

"I might if I knew who the hell Jesse is! And who the hell is Vince? Or Leon? Or Mia? You've been name dropping but you refuse to tell me who any of them are! Why the hell has Vince been calling you all night?"

"They're my friends and that's none of your god damn business, you asshole!" I yelled. I threw my phone into my bag and stormed out of the bar.

I didn't make it very far before Vince and Hector caught up to me. Vince wrapped his good hand around my wrist and tugged me towards the black Escalade parked outside the club. I climbed into the back silently, still too angry to fully comprehend what was happening. Vince climbed into the passenger seat and Hector into the driver's seat and we drove silently to the Fort.

I had calmed down slightly by the time Hector swung into the drive way. I stood by the door, searching in my bag for my keys as Vince climbed unsteadily out of the car. I struggled with the door before pushing it open and flicking on the lights.

I was about to turn around when Vince's arm wrapped around my stomach and he walked us towards the basement, kicking the front door closed as he went.

"You. Those shoes. Bed." He muttered in my ear as we stumbled down to the room that had been ours before I left.

I was angry and hurt and frustrated and bitter. I knew I would regret this in the morning. But the feel of Vince's soft tongue stroking against the sweaty skin of my neck and the movement of his work roughened fingers against the skin of my thighs was really all it took to wash my reservations away.


	11. The Morning After

I'm so sorry that it took me so long to update! This chapter isn't my favourite but please read and let me know what you think anyway!

I woke the next morning wrapped around Vince's body. My leg was thrown over his hip and my arm over his shoulder. My head was resting on his bicep and I was half covering his chest. His hand was on my back, holding me in place and his other hand rested lightly on the back of my knee where it bent across him.

I lay for a few minutes, taking in the pleasant aches in my body with a smile before reality set in.

Last night had been a huge, unbelievably delicious mistake. It shouldn't have happened. Sure, I was still pissed off at Mike but the alcohol had fuelled the situation and maybe I over reacted. He wasn't lying when he said I was preoccupied and how could I expect him to be worried about the people I was worried about when I couldn't even tell them they were my best friends?

I had to talk to him. I had to explain everything to him and we could go from there.

Vince sighed in his sleep and tightened his grip on my body and I couldn't help but tense up.  
What the hell was I gonna do about last night? Tell Vince it was a mistake would be like a red flag to a bull but not explaining it would be worse in the long run. The two of us needed to talk. A long, serious talk about what we were doing and what was gonna happen when the gang got back.

I closed my eyes and released the breath I was holding, smiling as it ran across Vince's neck, making him shiver. I snuggled closer to him, tightening my grip on his hair and closing my eyes again. The serious talk could wait a few hours.

When I woke again, I was alone in bed. Vince had wrapped me in the blanket so tightly it was like a cocoon around me. I yawned and stretched, wincing at the pain that stretched down my stomach and through my legs. I looked around the room, spotting my dress thrown over the guitar stand. My shoes were lying beside the bed and I groaned as I bent to pick them up.

I could hear movement above me so I figured I had a few minutes to sprint across the basement and grab some clean clothes before heading for a shower. I threw my dress over my arm, scowling as I looked at the long tear down the side seam, and opened the door quietly.

If only this was a one night stand with no strings attached. In fact, had it been a one night stand I wouldn't have felt half as guilty as I felt when I stood naked in Leon's bedroom, surveying my pile of clean clothes. I knew I should take a shower but when I lifted my arms I caught a whiff of Vince's scent on my skin, for the life of me… I did not want to wash it off. It had been so long since I had felt this satisfied…

Before I could second guess myself, I pulled on some clean underwear and a pair of worn in, skin tight jeans and one of Jesse's old vests I had washed the week before. I took a deep breath to brace myself before heading out of the basement.

Vince was sitting at the kitchen table, today's newspaper spread out in front of him. He was slowly eating a bowl of cereal and there was a cup of coffee beside him. He barely glanced up at me as I poured my own cup of coffee and sat down facing him.

We sat in silence for ten minutes, him staring at his newspaper and me staring at him. The silence was tense. I sat on edge, waiting on him to make the first move. I didn't have to wait too long.

"So…"

I glanced up with a start when he spoke. His voice was low and gruff and I shuddered as memories of last night assaulted me.

"So…" I prompted.

"Is there any point in talking about last night or are you just going to B.S me and say it was a mistake?"

He looked up at me with a mixture of hurt, triumph and anger in his eyes and I flushed. I had expected him to gloat about last night, but the hurt in his eyes surprised me.

"You know it was a mistake, V." I tried softly. Placating Vince was something I used to excel at. People made him angry, I got the call to come calm him down before he did something stupid. Now, I was frantically grasping at memories to see if I could remember exactly how I had done it.

"How was it a mistake? Because the asshole in the suit will be upset? You really care what he thinks after all that shit last night?"

"Yes!" I yelled back. He was standing now, glaring down at me from a height advantage. I pushed my chair back and stood facing him, crossing my arms over my chest. "He's my boyfriend! Of course I care that he'll be upset."

"Coming from you that's fucking hilarious! You sure didn't care how upset I'd be when you left me in the middle of the night and I'd been your boyfriend since you were seventeen! You've known that douche bag for what? A few months!"

A slap on the face would have been less painful. As it was I received a sharp jolt in my stomach as I realised he was right and I opened my mouth to apologise but he wasn't finished.

"I've been in love with you since you were fifteen and I know you've been in love with me for almost as long and you threw all of it away because you were scared! You didn't stop to think for even a second how that would make me feel! How it would make any of us feel. How Mia would cry for a week straight in her room, because she thought she had done something wrong; how Leon completely closed up and took months to come back out of his shell. Dom and Letty kept fighting over and over about stupid idiotic things because they were both so on edge about you. Jesse… Jesse bounced back because he was Jesse but you could see the difference… sometimes he would come bouncing into the shop, desperate to show you something and his face would drop like a fucking brick because he would remember you weren't here anymore. You were a selfish bitch for leaving and I wish I could fucking hate you for it!" His voice finished in a roar and I flinched back slightly; not because I was afraid of him hurting me but because I deserved it.

When I left, I had spent many sleepless nights wondering how Vince was dealing. I tortured myself with images of him bringing the whores from the races home with him; allowing them to sleep in _our_ bed, in _our _house. The rest of the team didn't take up nearly as much of my attention. Sure, I had thought about them but if I was honest with myself, I hadn't felt nearly guilty enough about what I was putting them through. I remembered all the times were had spent together, watching movies and at the races and at night clubs. The best times in my life had been surrounded by this group. The worst times of my life had been spent with them. We had been through so much shit together that I was suddenly disgusted with myself for throwing it all away.

Vince took a deep breath and suddenly his hands had cupped my face and I was staring up into his eyes.

"I've loved you since you were fifteen. Some jackass in a suit isn't going to change that." He growled into my face before storming out. I stood in shock, my mouth dropped open as the front door slammed.

I slowly sat down at the table and buried my face in my hands. I was so screwed.

He sent me flowers and brought me cupcakes into work, just to cheer me up.

Vince… Vince had never sent me flowers. And he didn't bring me cupcakes into work after a bad day, or meet me in the morning with a steaming cup of coffee and a bagel.

But Vince had never been the type of guy to shower his girl with gifts and I knew that when we started going out. He made an effort on my birthday and Christmas and he always got me something for our anniversary but random gifts just weren't his thing. It would never have occurred to him to buy me something just for the sake of it.

But he was the type of guy who took care of me in stupid little ways. He always made sure that the boys left me food to eat if I was working late or if I woke up late he always made me toast with exactly the right amount of butter and grape jam.

Vince was the kind of guy who looked after me physically. If anyone, girl or guy, so much as looked at me the wrong way, Vince was on them in seconds. I had seen him send many a bimbo crying at the races with a few sharp words and a glare. I just couldn't picture Mike calling someone a whore and telling them they weren't worth the ground I walked on, just because she hit on him.

Vince had looked after me in other ways too. He went out of his way to cheer me up if I was upset or annoyed about something. He would tell me stupid, silly jokes until I was smiling or he would tug me by the hand against him and slowly lean down and kiss me. It would be soft and tentative and careful and it was so different from the usual kisses we shared that I would melt and cheer up.

Then there was the fact that Vince was absolutely right. We'd been in love with each other since we were teenagers. Deep, passionate, 'nothing else matters but the two of us' love. I had seen him go toe to toe with his best friend for me. I had seen him knock the crap out of some drunk guy who'd called me sweetie and grabbed my ass in a bar. My memories of Vince were so vivid and so real that it felt like I'd never left.

Suddenly I was more confused than every. Mike or Vince, Vince or Mike.

The phone ringing pulled me out of my stupor and I jumped slightly before standing up and heading for the hallway.

"Hello?"

"Hi, could I speak to a Mr Vince Costello please?"

The voice was professional and cool and I frowned before answering.

"I'm sorry, he's not here right now. Can I take a message?"

"This is Doctor Cartwright from LA County hospital. If you could get Mr Costello to give me a call as soon as he comes in, I would appreciate it. It's about his friend Mr Black."

I froze and my heart sped up. "Actually I'm Jesse's friend he alright? What's going on?"

The doctor was silent for a few seconds before clearing his throat.

"I'm sorry. Mr Costello is down as Mr Black's emergency contact. I'm afraid I can't really give any information to anyone else. If you get him to call me as soon…"

I didn't hear the rest of his sentence because I already had the phone back on the cradle and had my cell out.

As soon as Vince picked up I spilled the story to him.

"I'm with Hector. We're on our way to pick you up." He told me without a pause. I nodded, even though he couldn't see me, and grabbed my bag, throwing the essentials into it.

Within two minutes I was rushing out of the house, locking the door behind me and waiting on Vince and Hector.

My phone rang as Hector's car sped around the corner. Caller ID read Mike and I bit my lip, debating whether or not to answer it. As Hector came to a stop in front of my, I threw the phone back into my bag. Jesse was far more important than consoling Mike right now.

I don't own any characters that you recognise.


	12. Return to the Hospital

Next chapter. Updates may be coming a little slower but i haven't forgotten this fic and i'm not abandoning it. please read and review this chapter and i'll try to have the next one up soon.

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The ride to the hospital was silent. Vince and Hector sat in front; Hector tapping his fingers to the beat only he could hear and Vince shooting him annoyed looks every couple of minutes. I could feel my phone vibrating in my pocket every few seconds but I was determinedly ignoring it. Vince wouldn't take too kindly to me sucking up to Mike right now and I wouldn't blame him.

My mind was so muddled that although I was trying to concentrate on one thing, I couldn't settle the thoughts. Foremost in my mind was terror about Jesse. If something happened to him… it really wasn't worth thinking about and yet I couldn't get it out of mind. Further back was Vince's words from earlier. I agreed with everything that he said. Everything. I had never really hated myself before but as I stared at the dark tan skin of Vince's shoulders, I despised myself and every stupid decision I had ever made. If I could take it all back… but on the other hand I was a different person now and I didn't know if I wanted to be the same naïve little girl I had been when I lived with the team.

For me, and no doubt Mia and even Letty to a lesser extent, living with the guys was like living in an ivory tower. No one bothered us and if they did, they quickly backed off after one look from any of the guys. Even Jesse had been known to scare people away from us because where one of us were, one of the guys wasn't far behind. Our word was as good as Dom's on the racing scene and people rushed to do what we wanted them to because if they didn't, word could get back to Dom and that would upset him. We were spoilt rotten and I had never noticed it until I started working in the bar and getting hassled by drunken idiots and finding out that not everyone valued my opinion. It had sucked at first but after a while I loved the fact that I could handle my own in a bar brawl and that people respected my opinion because they respected me.

I stared out the window, watching the houses blur and flash past. My heart was thudding in my chest and I had to keep wiping my hands on my jeans. I hated being this confused and not knowing what was going on or what to do.

We pulled into the car park of the hospital and I bounced out of the car. Vince spoke quietly with Hector for a few seconds before he pulled away with a wave and Vince looked down at me. His face was tense and drawn, his eyes clouded with worry. When he reached for my hand, I entwined my fingers in his immediately. He pulled me softly against him and I rested my forehead on his shoulder, breathing in his scent and praying for strength. It was clear suddenly. Maybe it was fate, Leon calling me to come back and help and maybe I shouldn't ignore it.

"Whatever happens…" I took a deep breath before going on. "I'm staying. I'm not leaving you guys again."

He looked at me seriously before nodding, tightening his fingers around mine and leading me towards the elevator bank at the back of the hallway. His palms were sweaty and slipped against mine as we waited patiently for the elevator to return to our floor.

"He's going to be okay." Vince muttered. I wasn't sure if he was assuring me or assuring himself but his rough voice soothed the panic in my heart and I nodded. "He has to be okay."

_He has to be okay, he has to be okay, he has to be okay…_ I repeated the mantra over and over in my head. I remembered the day Jesse and Leon had moved into the house with us. They had shown up a month before and started working at DTs but when Dom found out they were literally living out of their car, he insisted they move in. With Letty and Dom sleeping in the old master suite and me and Vince sharing his bedroom in the basement, it left two rooms spare.

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"Is this everything?"

Jesse looked up at me with a wry smile and nodded. I hadn't spent a lot of time with the younger man since he spent most of his time at the garage and I was working almost constantly at the store while Mia studied for finals. I knew Leon a little better because he was usually the one sent to pick up lunch for the gang and he always spent a few extra minutes flirting with me or the part timer we hired to help during the busy periods.

I picked up one of the black bags lying next to the yellow Skyline and slung it over my shoulder, turning to head back into the house. I came face to jersey covered chest with Leon. He smirked down at me and reached for the back.

"Don't want you to hurt yourself, sweet heart." His fingers lingered on the skin left bare by my strapless top and I scowled up at him as he grinned.

"If you want to keep that hand it would need to be off my girl." Vince growled as he headed towards us. I smirked as Leon's face fell slightly and leaned against Vince's chest as he pulled me towards him.

"When did you get home?" He asked me.

"A few minutes ago. I was giving Jesse a hand with the bags until Casanova here came back out to be shot down. Again."

"Hey." Leon almost sounded offended, but the grin on his face said otherwise. He winked at me as he headed towards the house, a bag in each hand. Jesse chuckled and slammed the trunk of the car closed, picking up another two bags. Vince unwrapped his arm from my waist and picked the remaining bags up.

"Dom's grilling some meat up." He told me as I followed him in to the house. E was still dressed in his work clothes; ripped and stained blue jeans and a tight black beater. The sun beat down on his skin of his shoulders, making them shiny with sweat and I couldn't resist the urge. I loped a finger through his belt loops and pulled him to a stop. He froze instantly, turning to me with a wicked smirk.

"Something I can help you with?" He raised an eyebrow at me and I smiled slowly, snaking my hands under his shirt and slowly scratching my nails against the hard planes of his abs. I reached forward slightly, smiling as his fingers twitched on the bag handles, and softly, slowly licked the spot where his neck met his shoulders.

"Careful there, baby, or we won't be eating tonight."

"Promises, promises." I winked at him as I pulled back and sauntered on in before him.

"Can we please save the porn show until after we eat?" Mia commented with a grin as I passed her. I shrugged and she groaned. "I need a man."

"What you need," Dom called from the kitchen. "Is a chastity belt."

I laughed loudly as Mia rolled her eyes in silent exasperation. Leon was at the door of the basement, a tooth pick sticking out of his mouth as he watched us. Wry amusement played on his face and I winked at him as I passed.

Today had been a good day in the shop and as a result I was in an awesome mood. I was happy that the two new guys were moving in with us. It would liven the house up a bit and maybe help Dom and V to relax a little more. Doubtful, but it didn't hurt to hope.

"Alright folks, grubs up." Letty called from the back garden. Vince's warm hands rested on my shoulders as he led me out and Leon, Mia and Jesse trailed after us. As we settled around the table, paper plates in hand, we talked about our day. There were at least three conversations going on at once and as a result, Mia forgot Dom's rule and reached for the centre of the table. Letty and I met each other's eyes and cackled as Dom told Mia she had to say grace.

"I hate you." She muttered at her brother, a faint blush staining her dark cheeks. She took a deep breath and we all bowed our heads and waited on her to start.

I wasn't a religious person. Neither was Vince. Letty was a little confused on the subject but could be spiritual when she wanted to be. Dom and Mia, however, went to church on Sunday. They prayed before every meal and I knew, from sharing a room with Mia years ago, that she definitely, and maybe Dom did too, prayed before sleeping. But Mia had always, always hated saying grace before a meal. Always. She always said that religion was private and she didn't want to have to share it with athiests like V, Letty and me.

"Dear heavenly father," Mia murmured. "Thank you for the food we're about to eat and thank you for the family around this table. May you keep them safe and watch over them. Amen."

"Amen." We muttered in unison. Vince grabbed a handful of chicken and dropped it onto his plate, pausing for a second and picking up a drumstick, setting it neatly on the side of my plate with a wink and a smile.

"Now that's chivalry." Mia's voice dripped with sarcasm and I chuckled as Vince leant over to drop a kiss on my shoulder.

"I take care of my girl."

"You guys are dating?"

The table turned, as one, to look at Jesse in awe. No one, within ten minutes of meeting me and Vince, could mistake us as not being together. It wasn't possible. There was too much touching and flirting and dirty comments for us to have been just friends. Jesse had been hanging around for more than a month now and he didn't know.

"I thought you were just hooking up." He shrugged, biting into a huge chunk of chicken. "You know, I thought, since you were never around the garage, that you were just a sk..."

"A what?" Vince growled, low in his throat. His hand was clenched on my knee painfully.

"Ease up, dawg." Leon muttered from across the table. He shot me an apologetic look and motioned towards Jesse. I glanced at him and was surprised to see that he was completely absorbed in his food. He hadn't realised he had come so close to insulting me; so close to Vince flooring him.

"ADD." Leon muttered again. "He doesn't realise what he's saying sometimes. Guess I should have mentioned that before we moved in." His face was void of emotions but I could see the nerves flashing in his eyes and the steely determination. He wouldn't just let V floor his friend.

Every one was silent for a few minutes until I shrugged and bit into a bit of chicken.

"So what do you do then?" Jesse asked me. I smiled at him through the mouthful of chicken and he returned the gesture. Slowly, Vince's fist relaxed on my knee and dinner passed peacefully.

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A week later and it was as if Jesse and Leon had been there forever. The team was seamless; one solid, steady group. The guys and Letty were busier than ever at the garage and I was working solidly at the café while Mia studied. We ate together in the evenings and spent our weekends together. I had always thought it was as close to perfect as life could get. Sure, we didn't always have much money and we had the fiercest arguments sometimes but we always got over that and we always came together as a team. We were unbeatable together.

I didn't realise I was crying until Vince had pulled my face against his shoulder. We ignored the looks of the other people in the elevator as he wrapped his good arm around my shoulders and I slid my hands into the back pockets of his jeans.

By the time we reached the ICU, we were the last people on the elevator. Vince held my hand as we stepped out and I looked around. Natalie was standing at a reception desk, deep in conversation with a tall man. He wore a doctor's coat and had greying hair. Without knowing how, I knew it was Dr Cartwright.

Nat smiled at me when she noticed me, though I could see her smile slip as she took in Vince's hand entwined with mine. She shot me an accusing look and I flushed, lowering my gaze to the floor.

"Some one called about Jesse." Vince spoke briskly. His voice sounded annoyed and I knew he had picked up the look I had received.

"Mr Costello, I presume?" Dr Cartwright looked over at us with a soft smile. "Mr Black is awake."

I wanted to scream with happiness. As it was I let out a little shriek of joy and wrapped my arms around Vince.

"Now, his vitals seem good and everything is fine with him. He will be moved to a non critical unit tomorrow but we'd like to keep him for another week, at least, to see how it goes."

"Can we see him?" I asked hopefully, turning to look at Natalie. She looked at me as if she could see right through me and I scowled. Natalie wasn't that good a friend to either me or Mike. There was no way she should be judging me this much for holding a friend's hand. I glared back at her until she dropped her gaze and I felt Vince let go of my arm.

"You can but one at a time please. Don't over excite him or anything." Dr Cartwright smiled gently at us again. "He's a very lucky young man."

I nodded our thanks and followed Vince down the hallway. "You go in first. If I see him, I might cry."

He nodded at me and turned towards the door. Before he opened it he turned back and smirked at me. Two steps towards me and his fingers were in my hair, his lips on mine. It was a quick, hard kiss but it made me smile when he let go.

The smile was wiped off my face when Natalie strode towards me.

"What is your problem?"

I stared at her in disbelief. Who the hell did she think she was?

The Max that Natalie knew wouldn't have started a fight in a hospital corridor over something as stupid as disapproval but the Dylan that was here to see Jesse would.

"My problem? What the hell is you problem, Nat? Who do you think you are, glaring at me like that?"

"I think I'm a friend of your boyfriend. I thought I was a friend of yours but seeing you hang off that guy like a whore, I really don't think I am. I don't think I know you at all."

"Because you don't, you stupid bitch." I growled. "You see me twice a week in a bar and you think we're best buddies? You don't know jack shit about my life and you never will."

"Neither does Mike, apparently, or he wouldn't have asked me to keep an eye on you." She retorted. I raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. "Guess I'll have to call him and tell him what a slut his girlfriend really is."

"Well why don't you go report back like the good little lap dog you are. Stay the hell out of my business, Nat, or you will regret it."

I turned to look into Jesse's room and was surprised to see Vince leaning against the doorway, his cold blue eyes locked on Natalie's back as she walked away.


	13. My Girl

Next chapter! Thanks again for all the reviews. I appreciate them.

Jesse was sitting up against the pillows when I walked in. His eyes were closed but he looked so much healthier than he had last time I was here. The difference was amazing.

"Dude, I am so glad you're awake."

He opened his eyes slowly and coughed a little, looking at me with a confused expression.

"V? Man, what is going on? Where is everyone? The doc wouldn't tell me anything and the last thing I remember is racing Tran… everything after that is a blur. Did we go ahead with the truck…"

"Whoa man, slow your roll." I hissed, glancing at the closed door. I could see Dylan talking to her doctor friend, who looked unhappy. "Man, we'll explain everything when we get you home. How much longer are you stuck here for, did the doc tell you?"

He shook his head. "Nah man. They won't tell me nothing."

"Alright. Look I got a surprise for you. Outside. I'm gonna bring it in and go talk to the docs, see if we can spring you soon."

"Cool man." He closed his eyes again and as hard as I fought it, a smile covered my face. Jesse was awake. Mia and Brian were close to sorting out the legal troubles. My girl was back. Life would be good soon.

I opened the door and stopped. Dylan and the doctor was fighting and the minute the slut word was spoke I froze. I hated that word. It was a word I'd never use in reference to a woman because I remembered, clearly, the time some jackass at school had called Dylan one, not long after we'd started going out.

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"Man, you should have seen dad. He was amazing." Dom's eyes flashed in excitement as he told Letty about the race we'd been at that morning. Let was practically green with envy as she listened intently, munching on a carrot dipped into peanut butter. We sat around the picnic table in the backyard. Letty had skipped on her last two classes of the day and Dom and I had taken the day off to go with Mr T to his race. Mia and Dylan would be home soon and then we were going out to Mr T's favourite Italian restaurant to celebrate his victory. Mr T was at the garage, finishing up on a car for his friend.

"I hate that I can't go with you guys. It's not fair." Letty whined, picking up another carrot. Dom reached over and plucked it from her fingers with a grin, munching it in one bite.

"Not cool, man." Letty snapped.

"Hey, I just don't wanna listen to you whining about how you can't eat your pasta because you stuffed yourself with carrots." Dom told her with a smirk. I rolled my eyes as she glared at him.

"You can't stuff yourself with carrots, idiot. They're carrots. There's a reason they're offered as a starter in restaurants."

"How many restaurants you been in?" I asked in amusement. We didn't really go out to eat. We preferred barbecues in the back garden. The Italian restaurant was a once a year thing, if the garage and store were doing well and it was a big occasion.

"A few." Letty turned her glare to me and I held up my hands in surrender. I knew better than to go up against her. "Not too many since my boyfriend is a lazy bum who never takes me out."

"Ouch." Dom deadpanned, eating another carrot.

The front door slammed and we glanced up, waiting on the two girls to come through to the yard. It was always the first stop we made when we got home.

I was surprised, and suspicious, that Mia was the only one who came out the door a few minutes later.

"Hey guys." She sighed, sliding in sit beside Dom.

"How you living, girl? Where's D?" Letty asked. Mia glanced at me and bit her lip before looking back at Letty. That was when I knew something was wrong.

I was known for my bad temper and whenever one of the family thought I was going to loose it, they would shoot me this nervous look. Mia always bit her lip and looked at her hands when she told me something I wouldn't like. Dom would cough and shuffle and avoid eye contact. Letty was blunt and to the point. She told me and then shrugged, leaving the vicinity as soon as she could without looking weak.

Dylan told me and then calmed me down. That was my favourite approach.

"You know that new family that moved in down the block? The one with the four sons and like five daughters?" Mia started. Mia was so dramatic. She loved building her stories up and then delivering the punch line only when we were either exasperated or on the edge of our seats. "Well two of the guys go to school with us and one of them has been hitting on D all week." She shot me a nervous look. "And today he and his brother sat at our lunch table. Letty had already left and it was just me and D. Hector and some of his boys were in the lunchroom and scared them away after a little while but this one guy was a total jerk. He just kept bouncing from me to D and back again, asking us out and being a total perv. You would kick his ass for what he said." She pointed at Dom. "Anyway, we were heading out to the car on our way home and he grabs D's arm and swings her around to face him. Of course, you know D, she gave him some sass and he didn't like it. So he told her to let him take her out. Asked why she was being such a frigid bitch and D told him that she was pretty sure her guy wouldn't like her going out with a loser like him. He went nuts and started calling her all the nasty names he could think of. Called her a whore and a bitch and a slut. He just kept screaming at her! If I could fight as well as you guys I'd have knocked him on his ass. D and I got into the car and drove home and he followed us. Seriously. Stayed on the ass of the car the entire way back and then as he drove past us outside, he called her a slut again."

"So where is she now?" Letty asked before I could. I was already half way to the house when Mia answered.

"Don't do anything stupid, V! I want my steak." Dom called after me. I waved a hand in his general direction before continuing on my way.

Dylan was in our room. Well, technically it was only my room since Mr T didn't know she snuck down here every night. She was sitting on the bed, staring at a picture of us that she had framed and put on the dresser. It was in a plain, black wooden frame that Letty had provided when I threw a fit about the girly purple one Dylan had wanted to use.

D was sitting on my lap in the backyard, her arm around my neck and my arms around her tiny body. She was winking at the camera and I was looking at something unseen, probably Dom or Letty, and laughing. Mia had taken it and had it printed and put into the purple frame for Dylan for Christmas.

"Hey baby."

She glanced up at me and gave me a watery smile and I felt my anger sky rocket. No dick was gonna call my girl a slut, make her cry and get away with it. Not a chance.

"What happened at school?"

I sat next to her, smiling as she automatically curled up against my side. Dylan always reminded me of an old cat that ran about the neighbourhood when we were kids. This cat loved to be stroked and petted and I remember Mr T telling us that it craved contact. Dylan was the same. No matter where we were or what was happening, D would reach out and touch. It wasn't always me, either. She would wrap a hand around Dom's bicep sometimes, or her and Mia would stand with their arms around one another. Letty got an arm through hers while they walked and Mr T got hugs and kisses on the cheek. I got everything. If people thought it was weird that me and my girl was always touching then screw 'em. I didn't give a damn what anyone outside the family thought about me. I never had and I never would.

"Some dick head was messing with me and Mia." She told me. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and ran my finger tips down her bare arm. "It was nothing."

"If it was nothing, why are you hiding in here for?"

She shrugged. "I just… my dad used to call my mom a slut. When that douche bag called me one I just… I froze, you know? I hate that word. I can handle abuse, you know that, but it just hit me hard. I don't wanna turn into my mom, V."

Part of the reason Dylan had moved in with the Torettos was because her mom had a steady stream of men coming through her revolving doors. When Mr and Mrs T found out what D was being forced to watch in her house, they packed up her things and brought her home. Her mom barely noticed and her dad only tried to get her back once. Her mom was a first class whore and Dylan was nothing like that.

"Look, me and Dom are coming back to school tomorrow and I'm gonna kick the prick's ass." I told her. "You're nothing like your mom baby. You never will be. And that jackass is jealous. You're hot and you're taken and after I get through with him, he ain't gonna call you anything other than that girl he ain't going near again."

She smiled at me and I raised an eyebrow, reaching forward to kiss her.

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"…Stay the hell out of my business, Nat, or you will regret it."

I watched the doc as she moved down the hall, her head held high and her shoulders rigid and tense. Dylan turned suddenly and I pulled my eyes away from the doc and stared down at her.

"He okay?" She asked hopefully. I nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pushing her into Jesse's room.

"Go talk to him. I wanna talk to the docs a minute."

Dylan looked up at me warily and shook her head. "Leave it V. Just leave it."

"Relax," I smirked. "I just want to talk about Jesse."

She narrowed her eyes at me but gave in, walking into Jesse's room. I heard his exclamation of her name and grinned.

I made my way down the hallway again, my eyes fixed on the back of the doctor. She had stopped at the admissions desk, her head bent over something. As I approached I saw she had a phone in her hand and she was tapping away at the keypad. I stared at her until she looked up.

Her eyes widened in fear and I smirked.

"Can I help you with something?" She tried for cool and collected but I saw her hands shaking as she placed her phone back into her pocket.

"Yeah. You can tell me when my friend's gonna be released."

She looked surprised and I smirked again. Her face flushed and I inwardly laughed. I was pretty sure she thought I was coming on to her. Pity she wasn't my type.

"He's just awake. It's going to be at least a few days before he's well enough to be moved out of ICU, never mind him going home."

"Alright then." I turned to walk away before pausing and turning back. Her eyes darted back up to my face and I grinned.

"One more thing, nurse."

"I'm not a nurse, I'm a doctor."

"Yeah, sure. Anyway, just wanted to tell you…" I moved closer and raised an eyebrow as she flinched slightly. "You talk to my girl like that again…"

I left the threat unsaid and grinned when she stared at me coldly.

"I wasn't aware that she was your girl. Last I checked, she had a boyfriend named Mike and you're certainly not him." She looked me up and down in disapproval and I glared. She sure wasn't acting disgusted with me a few minutes ago.

"Dylan's always been my girl and she always will be. You'll see." I smirked at her once more before I headed back towards Jesse and Dylan.

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I dont own the characters from TFATF.


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